Under Construction

For those of us with siblings, think back to the last time you had a quarrel with them. This moment may have been a fair few years back, or it may have been only a few minutes ago. Usually, these futile arguments do not cease until the referee (in the form of a mother, father, caretaker or guardian) dare to step into the picture. They have the authority to demand silence, resolve the dispute and the power to force opposing sides to say sorry.

My younger brother and I are three years apart. So I guess you could say there wasn't all that much between us. We grew up together, caused trouble together, and by the time I got my first boyfriend, it wasn't long until he witnessed his first glimpse of puppy love. As much as we hate to admit, I'd say we have a good brother-sister relationship. We get along abnormally well.

Reminising, back in the days, we had the absolute DUMBEST fights. We used to fight over those crappy TAZO's you get free with every purchase of chips. Back then, they were the shi*t. We fought over who should switch off the television. On one occassion, our argument was so heated it caused him to throw one of them cheap plastic toys you get free with the oldskool McDonald Happy Meals. What's with fighting over free stuff in my family? Anyway, our grudges were usually forgotten at the words 'hey kids, food's ready!' ;and set aside until the next time we needed something to use against each other.

My mother always said that we never learnt our lesson. That no matter how many fights we had in one day, there was always room for more. We didn't stop until someone got hurt.

I could say the same about relationships. Few, if not any of us have reached our peak of wisdom or have completely matured; no matter how adult we think we are. At the moment we are 'under construction', physically, mentally and emotionally. When you think of typical construction sites, you think of the dangers in them. Dangers that cause harm, dangers that have the potential of scarring you for life.

Then why are we so willing to commit ourselves to these people, these construction sites. They still have a long way to go in the development stage. Alterations are yet to be added in the Brains Department. We go from one construction site to another, getting hurt every single time. We don't stop until someone gets hurt. Even then, it is only a matter of time until we move on to another danger zone.

But then again, it's through these risks that we grow and develop. Sometimes we choose to take these lessons on board and sometimes we choose to totally ignore them. It's a process of trial and error, or simply putting up with the people that hurt us - unconditional love.