The First Step

All I wanted for Christmas was to get along with my brother

- By REBECCA HARREL, Menifee, California

SIBLING DIFFERENCES

Rebecca and her older brother, Noah, may have opposite personalities, but the two have found ways to bridge their disagreements.

Why was my older brother, Noah, lounging on the couch watching TV while I was running around cleaning the kitchen? He was the reason our family's Christmas Eve dinner got pushed up to tonight, December 23. He had to work on the twenty-fourth.

He was also the reason why Mom hadn't started cooking yet. She was out having lunch with Noah’s girlfriend, Anastasia, to get to know her better. I didn’t want Mom to come home to a messy house. She had enough to do.

“Hey, I could use a hand putting away the dishes,” I called to Noah out in the living room.

“Sure,” he said, then strolled into the kitchen.

I stifled the urge to ask him why I needed to ask for his help. Noah was 23, out of college and living on his own. I was 20 and would graduate college in the spring. We were young adults, but for the past six years, ever since he’d moved out for college, we fought like little kids every time we were together.

I knew it upset Mom. It upset me even more. Lord, all I want for Christmas is to get along with my brother, I thought. Is that too much to ask?

I was wiping down the counter when I realized Noah had gone back to the couch. I glanced at the dishwasher.

He'd put away a total of two dishes. The rest were sitting there in the rack.

“Are you kidding me?” I marched out to the living room. “I cleaned the rest of the house, Mom's going to make dinner for everyone, and you can’t be bothered to empty the dishwasher?”

“What do you want from me?” Noah said. “I put some dishes away.”

“Two!” I held up two fingers. “Two!” I stormed off to my room before he could answer. I slammed the door and flopped on my bed.