my mom commented to me by email* i didn't post enough photos of me with my little brother in my post about my brothers. "don't you remember you were like his little mother?" she asked. i doubt jon erik checks our blog (i know, it is pretty lame), but here's an amendment post just for him!
jon erik was born 5 days before i turned 3. my mom had him at home, in her bedroom in our townhouse on _____ way in ______ virginia**. christian and i were present for the whole labor. my grandparents were there and kept shuttling christian and me to the bathroom to wash our feet because there was newspaper all over the bedroom floor. my mom was so focused during the whole labor--my dad made me go over and rub her leg in support and love, but i remember feeling very embarrassed to do so as i was a very, very, very shy child. but i did, and i don't think my mom noticed--she was too busy breathing (she has since told me she does remember me sucking my thumb and giving her support). as far as my almost-three-year-old memory goes, the whole labor was pretty quick, and i remember feeling like we were a part of something exciting and special (i think due to that experience my parents never had to field a "where do babies come from" question). i was so amazed with the whole process and loved my little brother the minute he made an appearance into the world. the midwife cleaned him up and wrapped him in a blanket and put a sock hat on his head. the first thing i did was give him a kiss on his head. christian told me i shouldn't do that because i might hurt him. i immediately dubbed jon erik my pseudo baby and as my mom said, i became his little mother. we did everything together growing up.
while christian was at school, jon erik and i played school at home. i think this was actually when i was in am kindergarten, but after i got home i taught jon erik everything i learned that morning. this must have been a "music day" when we made our very own guitars and strummed like rock stars. i have always loved jon erik's sense of individual fashion--he was born with this fashion gene and always put things together no one else would think of. here's an example: duck suspenders and flannel plaid. in the summer it was a bathing suit and the 80s moon snow boots.
here we are in the early spring or fall of 84, i think. my mom always kept my hair cut really short growing up (to help diffuse the confusion that i was in fact a girl with a boys name?...just kidding...i LOVE my name--maybe some day i'll devote an entire post to my name...wouldn't that be exciting?)--this was the first time i could put my hair up in pigtails. there i am, holding on to jon erik like always.
in our spare time we played dress ups. jon erik was a good sport--from barrettes to shoes.
after the townhouse we moved into a house with a long private drive that was perfect for playing on. we shared the drive with our nextdoor neighbors, whose part of the drive went up a tiny hill/incline. the neighbor girls had the coolest 80s toys (my little ponies, strawberry shortcake big wheels, frogger mini-arcade game, he-man and she-ra toys, glo-worms, light bright, etc)--jon erik and i loved taking the big wheel out for a spin. he'd latch on to me like a sloth and we'd start at the neighbor's garage at the top of this incline, and see how far we could go down the hill without pedaling. ahhh, those were the days.
* the irony of this is that my mom doesn't believe in blogs--she thinks it makes it easier for terrorists and stalkers to find us. maybe i should privatize the blog? i don't know...i don't think i have enough presence in the world to make the bad guys want to find me.
**mom called and told me i shouldn't put places and names on here. so i deleted them.
