My sister Diane had a knack for finding ways to irritate my other sister. Sandy was an easy target for Diane’s creative mischief. She was high strung, sensitive, and always felt like she was the poster child for the “Middle Child Syndrome.’ I won’t go as far as to say that Diane delighted in “getting my sister’s goat,’ but she did a good job of it on a weekly, if not a daily, basis.
I remember the time Diane volunteered to get ready for bed first. We all should have known that there would be trouble, but somehow, none of us noticed how unusual this behavior was. Diane waved goodnight and even blew us kisses. When she got to the top of the stairs, she quietly emptied the hamper of clothes and hid them under her bed. Then she turned out the bedroom light after placing her Patty Playpal, a doll that stood about three feet tall, under the covers and tucked her in. Satisfied that Patty looked like a child sleeping peacefully in her bed, she managed to climb inside the hamper and closed the lid.
She must have waited in darkness for at least 30 minutes. When she heard Sandy’s footsteps across the wooden floor of the hallway, she popped up like a jack-in-the-box! Sandy screamed bloody murder and brought my mother sprinting up the stairs like an Olympic runner. My mother had a hard time keeping Sandy from strangling my youngest sister who was hooting with laughter. My poor mother tried to reason with her, punish her, take away special privileges. But nothing would deter her. My youngest sister Diane was a trickster through and through!
I remember the time Diane volunteered to get ready for bed first. We all should have known that there would be trouble, but somehow, none of us noticed how unusual this behavior was. Diane waved goodnight and even blew us kisses. When she got to the top of the stairs, she quietly emptied the hamper of clothes and hid them under her bed. Then she turned out the bedroom light after placing her Patty Playpal, a doll that stood about three feet tall, under the covers and tucked her in. Satisfied that Patty looked like a child sleeping peacefully in her bed, she managed to climb inside the hamper and closed the lid.
She must have waited in darkness for at least 30 minutes. When she heard Sandy’s footsteps across the wooden floor of the hallway, she popped up like a jack-in-the-box! Sandy screamed bloody murder and brought my mother sprinting up the stairs like an Olympic runner. My mother had a hard time keeping Sandy from strangling my youngest sister who was hooting with laughter. My poor mother tried to reason with her, punish her, take away special privileges. But nothing would deter her. My youngest sister Diane was a trickster through and through!
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