Growing Up

The words seem so easy.

They flow right off your tongue.

Grow up.

At first,

You dread it.

You cry and whine,

Say “I’ll never leave you!”

To your parents.

Shocked that they would even say such a thing.

In childish innocence,

You make life long vows.

Blood oaths,

Promises that won’t be kept.

Cross your heart,

And say goodbye.

When you’re older,

You can’t wait to leave.

Like Christmas morning,

You wait impatiently for what seems like forever,

Tolerating your parents,

Your siblings.

Holding in your mind,

All along,

Just three more years.

Two more years.

One more year.

Here.

In To Kill a Mockingbird,

As Jem gets older,

He has a shorter temper with Scout.

He won’t let her walk with him.

He acts superior.

Scout can’t make sense of it.

I can.

Who wants a little sister tagging at your heels?

Embarrassing you in front of friends,

Laughing too loud,

Asking dumb questions.

You’re a big boy now.

You don’t have time for a little girl.

A little sister,

A little worshiper.

Jem doesn’t throw her a crumb.

She absolutely loves him,

He’s just cranky and irritable.

She thinks they’re equals,

He knows they’re not.

She doesn’t understand him now,

He gives no reasons.

He’s better than her now.

He’s older,

Stronger,

Faster,

Smarter,

Scout’s just dead weight to him now.

He doesn’t play with babies.

When I was growing up,

I was thrilled to have an older sister.

I wasn’t so happy to have a twin brother.

He pulled my hair,

And never shared his candy.

My sister was cool and pretty.

She knew the answers to EVERYTHING!

She went to a different school and had tall friends.

She always ignored me when they were here,

I didn’t like them as much.

As I got older,

So did she.

She started closing the door to her room so I couldn’t go in,

She talked on the phone a lot,

She brought home boys for dinner.

They were always pimply and ugly.

She said words that I got yelled at for repeating and,

She wasn’t fun anymore.

I waited patiently for her to return.

I let her kick me out of her room.

If she got mad at Mom so did I.

I was patient.

Then she left.

At first I was in a state of shock.

Where did she go?

Why wasn’t she coming back?

I begged my parents to call the police.

She must have been kidnapped!

They shook off my concerns and laughed.

I couldn’t believe they could be so cruel.

I waited for days,

I counted the hours.

Every morning I woke up happy and excited,

Every night I went to bed sad.

Finally my mom explained to me that,

My sister had grown up.

She was at college learning.

She had left home.

She would visit and come on holidays.

But not stay forever.

I swore I would never leave.

Now all I can to do is wait.

Two more years,

One more year,

Here.

                                                                        By Jenn