Just The Three of Us

I remember when it was just the three of us - Mommy, Daddy, and of course the best thing that ever happened to them, me. We lived in my mothers parents house until I was four. The house faced the highway and had a big yard. Daddy would always go and play with me outside. We had a lot of fun me and him. He would ask me, "Who's Daddy's little girl?" I would make my puppy dog eyes at him, smile real big and tell him, "Me, Daddy!"

When Dad had to work late or mow the grass or something, me and Mom would play the piano. It took her a while to get me to stop banging on it and actually play a few notes. "Old Mac Donald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O." This was our favorite song. We would play and sing and laugh together for hours. I remember when we practiced one day so we could sing it for Daddy when he got home. He tried not to laugh because it was so serious for me to make him proud. At the end of about six farm animals, Dad clapped and gave me a big hug, "I'm so proud of you mi hija. That was great!" We had a lot of fun together, the three of us, we always wanted to make each other happy. The New House "What are all these people doing here, Mommy?" "They're here to build our new house!" "Why?" "Because this house is getting too old."

"Why?"

"Because it was here even before I was born."

Mom was always good and patient at answering my "Why" questions.

"Come on let's go outside and see."

So, all of a sudden there's a lot of trucks, people, and banging. I like our old house. I don't see why we need a new one. I think they don’t like it anymore because of that snake. Yeah a snake! When I got our of the bath, I was walking to the bedroom, and a snake fell right in front of me from the top of the door-way. Boy did I ever scream. Mom and Dad were busy all day for a few days. They would send me across the yard to my cousin's and play with her. She was cool to me, except she would make me eat mud pies and drink her magic potions. She's three years older than me, so she knew more and I listened.

"Hey, Sonia."

"Yeah."

"Why do you think we need a new house?"

"Because ya'll need more room."

"More room?"

"For the baby."

"What baby??!"

"The one your mom's gonna have."

I got up and ran home. I was mad.

They're going to tear down our house and build a new one where me and Daddy play for some baby I don't even know about!

I asked a lot of "why" questions and my parents made everything sound like it made sense and that I should be happy because I'm going to be a big sister. So, I acted like I was, but I was still mad.

May 1981
My birthday is coming up in a few days and nobody seems to be making a big deal out of it. We're in the new house now, and I'm about to turn five. Why is it that Sonia is the only one that cares? Everybody keeps putting their hands and ears up to my mom's big tummy. They told me the baby is in there, but I don't believe them.

It's May 11th and it's my birthday. My parents gave me a little party at our new house. I got a lot of cool presents and had a real cool Barbie cake that my mom made me. My dad took a lot of pictures. I even had a big pinata. The party would have been perfect except all these old people kept asking me if I was excited about this baby.

Wow Lisa, you're going to be a big sister. Aren't you excited!"

I would just give them a fake smile and tell them "Yeah."

I was really thinking "YEAH RIGHT!" This is my party and you're still going to talk about this baby that has more new things in its room than I got for my birthday.
"You're going to have a little baby to play with," they would tell me.

I have Sonia to play with, that's good enough.

It's May 20th and mom had to go the hospital. I think that baby was hurting her because she was crying. Everyone was excited, but that baby was hurting her. The doctor said for us to go home and that it would be another day till the baby came. I told mom, be she said she had to stay there. I was sad, because me and mom had never been apart except for when she went to work.

Me and Dad got home and all he knew how to make was egg sandwiches. YUK! I had to eat them and say they were good because I didn't want to hurt dad's feelings.

Today is the 21st and we are back at the hospital. I have to sit and behave with my grandma for hours because Daddy told me to. Later on Dad comes in and tells everyone, "It's a boy!" They're all so excited. I even got excited. Then we went up to this big glass window and they showed us my new little brother. He was kinda ugly, but he was my little brother. It's Not Fair

"So what if he's a baby! I was playing with it first."

"Give it to him so he'll stop crying."

"No!"

"Here Lisa, you can play with this."

"No!"

"Here comes your dad.

Fine!

Here you stupid cry-baby."

It wasn't fair. Everything I had, he wanted. This cute little baby boy. Yeah right! He's the devil in disguise I'm telling you. All he does is cry. He even pulls my hair. But if I do it back to him I get in trouble. He has all his own toys, but he has to want the one's I am playing with. Now daddy is too tired to play with me outside. I can't even get anyone to play Go Fish with me. I'm not going to bed until someone plays Go Fish with me.

That night I cried on the sofa. I laid there with my cards and cried myself to sleep. Sometimes Dad would bring home a surprise. But he would have to bring one for both of us or J.B. would get mad and try to take mine, but what else was news. I felt like he had take away my toys, my fun, and my parents.

One day I got so mad, I yelled, "I hate you! I wish you were never born!" I sure got in trouble after I said that. I made him cry. I made him cry real bad. I was kind of happy for a while. I was about nine and he was about four. I could hear him crying to my mom, "Isa don't love me."

He couldn't say my name so he called me Isa or Sissy. I really hurt his feelings. I went and hugged him and told him I was sorry. I told him that I loved him and he gave me my toy back. We still fought, but we started getting along better. Now Now he's fifteen, and I'm twenty. We don't see each other much, so we get along great. He still tries to take what's mine, like my bedroom back home, but I'm still Daddy's little girl and Dad won't let him take my room. I look back at that old house and miss the times when it was just the three of us. But I guess it turned out OK having this little brat around. He's still afraid of me and sometimes listens to me more than my parents.

We go to parties together now and I have to sneak him in the house a little drunk. We don't like the same music, clothes, or movies, but we've learned to compromise. Most importantly he's learned that I’m the big sister and I know more. So now it's the four of us in our no longer brand new home and I don’t think I would have it any other way.
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