memories

 Today is Nap Day which is perfect because today is also my west coast brother's birthday.  He is ten years younger than me and a bit of a surprise addition to our family since our mom was 45 when he was born.  My memory of his very early months was folding lots and lots of clean diapers.  This was way before the disposable kind.  But about those naps, when he was a toddler and my other brother and I were home from school for the summer, Mom insisted that we take a 30 minute nap after lunch.  Or as she called it a quiet time, each of us in our own rooms.  We didn't actually have to nap, we could read but we had to be quiet so the little one could fall asleep for his nap.  It wasn't until I was a mother myself that I appreciated that our quiet time was also Mom's only break for the day.  But I really want to write about another birthday memory.  When I was at home for the summer after my first year of teaching, I decided, as a birthday treat, to take my 11 year old little brother to the big city (believe me, compared to Woodburn, Fort Wayne was the big city) for lunch and a movie.  The movie was "The Sound of Music" and when we got to the theater, across the street from the Embassy, for the 1:00 show. all that was left was standing room only.  How long has it been since you saw a movie theater that full?  We decided to get tickets for the next show at 4:00pm instead and wiled away the hours window shopping.  There were lots of down town stores back then.  We finally got to see the movie, and it was amazing, especially on the really big screen.  We both loved it.  Happy birthday, and happy memories little brother.