Childhood Memories

My little brother and I were ten years apart in age. Because of which, there were precious few years that we played together. Being kids of resource, we made good use of our imaginations. One afternoon, we played our favorite make-believe game.
"I am the inter-dimensional voyager. Only I can take you to your destination. What dimension would you like to visit today?" I asked my four-year old little brother.
"The candy road, I want to go to the candy road!" Brian squealed with excitement.
"Step into the inter-dimensional transport, non-stop to dimension five!" We crouched down behind our corner bush until we could no longer see the rest of the yard. "All out! First we must ask the King for permission. Oh, great King of Dimension Five," I bellowed, kneeling before our shade tree—which was almost in the exact center of our yard, "we request to journey through your lands."
Brian knelt beside me, his head also bowed.
"He said we have his permission, but we must not enter dimension six or ten."
"Six or ten? What's so special about six or ten? I bet that's where the good candy is! Hey! How come he only talks to you?" Brian asked with awe in his voice.
I wondered if he could actually see our giant shade tree—totally unsuited for climbing—as the portly, ruddy-cheeked emperor I described in fantastic detail, or was he simply playing along?
"Because I am the inter-dimensional voyager!" I replied with complete authority.
Either Brian accepted my answer as truth, or decided that it did not matter.


This is just one of my memories of my little brother and I. This is how I hope my children are. I hope they genuinely enjoy each other's company from childhood into adulthood. I am not naive enough to think that there won't be rough spots. I'm sure my mother can recall many a story of us not playing nice. However, those are not the memories I hold. I remember sticking up for my little brother when a bully tried to pick on him. I remember how cute he was as a child. I remember the good parts. Hopefully, my children will too....