I’ve been reading back over the updates I’ve posted and realize that many of you may be wondering what in the world drives a person to do something as extreme as this race. Well, I don’t have an answer for you. I can give you insight on how she was conditioned for this type of lifestyle. The story I will now share with you has been, for some years, used as a weapon against Josh (our brother) and me. Laura has wielded it as a counter attack when we start talking about how much trouble she always managed to escape. I think it is time to get to the bottom of this affair and give credit where credit is due. In order to understand the nuances of this tale I need to give a little background. Mom and Dad had set some very healthy boundaries for T.V. watching. We were each allowed a 30 min show per day. All of us could watch each others shows and if agreed upon two could pool their time and pick a one hour show. On the day in question Dad was at work and Mom was at the grocery store. As the oldest I was left in charge. I’m not going to lie to you, I liked being in charge had no problem taking control. I would have been 14yrs old, Josh was 13yrs old and Laura was 9. We were all sitting in front of the T.V. watching our shows. We were pretty good kids and were following the “30 min rule” even with no adults about. Laura had watched her show already and if I remember correctly Josh and I had pooled our time to watch a one hour show. Laura had the remote and being the imp that she was she proceeded to switch the channels on us. One of us would get up and switch it back the other would tell her to “cut it out”. It went on like this for about 10 min before Josh and I started to get upset. When you are limited in the time you can watch T.V. you tend to get protective of that time. I went through my options in my mind. There were other rules I needed to consider. Don’t hit in anger, don’t bite, no scratching, pretty much no brutality was acceptable. I stumbled across a brilliant punishment for her crimes that wouldn’t violate any of the afore mentioned rules and would get her out of our hair for a while. I enlisted my brother’s help and we carried Laura outside. There were apple trees around the house and we tied her to one close to the front door. It was in view of the T.V. area so technically I’d still be watching her. I went a got the sprinkler and turned it on. Josh and I went inside and got back to watching our show, now more than half over. Now, this is where there seems to be some debate about the details. My sister claims this was done in the middle of winter, she says this emphasizing winter. I think that late February in our beautiful, temperate Washington state could be considered early spring. Regardless of that small detail, Mom came home a few minutes later and “rescued” our sister from getting a little soggy on a fresh “spring” day. We didn’t get in big trouble for it, I think Mom was trying not to laugh as we were reprimanded. Laura was more careful after that, she knew we were serious when we told her to cut it out. There is a part of me that has felt a little guilty all these years, especially since Laura doesn’t skip a single chance to remind me of this “transgression”. Recently though I’ve begun to come to a new realization. I should be thanked for helping to train her for the conditions she now faces. I, in essence, strengthened her against the elements. As I think about it this way I don’t really mind the time reference being “the middle of winter”. That would mean I helped that much more. I’m so glad to have the opportunity to write these posts. I feel like I have reached some healing just sharing it with you. I think when Laura gets home I’ll sit and have a little sister heart-to-heart. I think if I explain it this way she may just see the light and thank me for always being there for her, supporting her dreams even before she knew what they were!