(baby) lucas strikes back

lucas, in a moment of zen, amidst his animal collection. he seems harmless, right?


to be perfectly clear, lucas cannot actually still be referred to as "baby". however, jacob and isaac will not accept the inevitability of lucas being a peer in little-boyhood. the strength of their denial, may have been the root of isaac's, um, downfall.

a couple of weeks ago, lucas inherited a new game for the communal leapster handheld game device that we have. he enjoyed an hour or so of uninterrupted gaming while the twins were at school. such peace is not meant to last.

i think brothers might have a general spirit of "what's mine is yours, what's yours is mine" with a real emphasis on the "what's yours is mine" part. as soon as isaac and jacob spotted the new game cartridge, entitlement reared its ugly head. in the challenging hours between tutoring and bedtime, i endeavored to mandate a cycle of turn-taking. during a lucas-turn, isaac hovered unendurably until lucas fled down the hall with the leapster. isaac followed. i heard a brief struggle, and then, isaac coming down the hallway, leapster in hand.

i was about to intervene. to force big brother to relinquish the stolen leapster. but lucas took matters into his own dimpled hands.

the next thing i heard, was a larger scuffle and a startled scream from isaac. a startled scream followed by a dramatic, horror- movie scream. lucas emerged from the hall, unscathed, and carrying the leapster, already engrossed in the lit screen.

isaac lay full-length in the hallway on his stomach (where he'd evidently gone down like a sack of potatoes) and writhed while screaming things like,

"i've been bitten by a baby!!!!"

"ow! my back!"

"why?!?! why?!?!"

"i...didn't...know...he...could...bite...like...that!!!!"

these exclamations (and writhing) continued for 5-10 minutes.

i might have come to isaac's aid, but it felt rude to tend him while laughing. i tried my best to smother my giggles on the other side of the dining room. it took several minutes to regain complete composure.

meanwhile, lucas continued to be riveted by diego's (very animated!) animal rescue. and jacob, was neutral about the whole affair.

i did eventually help isaac. i'm not completely heartless, after all. i cleaned the bite. it had broken the skin a little. and gave isaac his choice of band-aid. i let him know that while it was wrong for lucas to bite, it was also wrong for him to snatch toys away...

honestly, i could see both sides of this particular battle. i have been the older sibling, and felt the temptation to wield my brute older-sibling force like the ultimate weapon that it is. and, i have watched as my sweet, little sister sunk her pearly whites into my forearm, with her eyes wild like an animal. who can blame the little siblings for utilizing some of the only tools in their arsenal? particularly a full set(!) of tools that can fell a big brother like a giant sequoia. all i know for sure, is that isaac learned a (painful) lesson. and lucas might have walked a little taller.

aftermath

for the rest of this particular evening, every time lucas came near isaac, isaac would shout, "shoo! shoo!"

the next morning, i told isaac to tell ragain what had happened to his back. isaac said,

"well, dad, my back really hurts."

ragain: "oh, yeah? what happened?"

isaac: "the baby bit me."

ragain: "what?"

isaac: (pointing at lucas) "THAT BABY BIT ME!!!!"


additionally, isaac recently snagged the leapster from lucas, again. lucas didn't mind because he wasn't really actively playing... but as isaac turned his back to walk away with it, he turned back suddenly and said,

"don't bite me."

if you've got a little brother or sister that sometimes got the best of you. time to send them a note or give them a call and let them know you admire their spunk. and, that they still kind of scare the crap out of you. (those wild eyes are no joke!!!)