Younger Brothers are Mischievous

Step up to conflict

I’ve heard a ton of stories about younger siblings terrorizing the elder statesmen in their families. In my wife’s family, the youngest sibling took a leak in his sister’s shoes. My dad had a brother quite literally throw a pitch fork at a different brother. And in my family, we have Huck.

All the best stories happen after dark

Our night-time routine is a frequent topic of conversation. By now you should have figured out it’s a whole family affair most of the time. This night we gathered in the bathroom, trying to chase the bugs away.

On this night, both boys wanted their mother to brush their teeth. I obliged, mainly because it meant I didn’t have to wrestle with them. Plus she’s a hygienist. Quite frankly, she does a better job.

Huck’s turn at brushing came and went. No problems. No anecdotes. A two-year old’s teeth were cleaned. I’m just racking up word count at this point.

Tom stepped on the stool in front of our sink so he could brush his teeth. At this point, Huck wanted back on the stool. He might’ve wanted to get himself a drink. He might have just been trying to terrorize Tom. Any way you slice it, his brother had something, he wanted it, conflict ensued.

Taking your shot when you have it

Tom started flailing his leg. I’m defending Tom here. Flailing is the nicest way to describe it. If I was trying to prosecute, I’d say Tom was attempting to kick his brother. In the nicest light, he was trying to shoo him away.

Huck didn’t take kindly to this. He pouted in the corner.

Now, Tom is just short enough that he has to hop up on the sink to spit out his toothpaste. When he finished brushing, he hopped up on the counter to perch himself on his stomach.

Huck seized his opportunity.

I watched as my two-year old crawled across the bathroom floor, quietly pulled the stool away about six inches, and then sat down to watch what would happen. I said nothing.

Tom let himself fall back down to where he thought the stool would be, and crashed down to the floor. My wife and I held back laughter as our oldest received his comeuppance.

Pick your battles

I don’t know what prompted my uncle to throw a pitchfork, but I would assume the older brother was at fault. I know my sister-in-law purposefully locked her newly potty-trained brother out of the bathroom. For that slight, she received pee-soaked Nikes.

Share your stories in the comments or on Facebook of the time you got back at your brothers and sisters. I’d love to hear the tales.