Poor Sam. The wallpaper in his bedroom was really too juvenile for him when we moved into this house six years ago, back when he was 12. We told him that it would go, just as soon as we finished stripping the walls in his sister’s room.
But it was Sam’s misfortune to be second in line after a project that proved unexpectedly grueling. The four of us worked for a week on Amy’s room, spraying, steaming, peeling inch by inch, to reveal the plaster behind the layers of paper. It was truly hellish. Years went by before we were ready to even consider tackling Sam’s walls, which, now that he’s 18 and in college, had begun to seem not merely juvenile but downright insulting. I started to worry that he’d move everything out, go live in an apartment out by UCF, and never come home! But how to get ourselves going on this project that we knew would be so awful?
Enter now another character in this story, and I when I say character, I mean a real character! It’s my older brother, Mike, who just moved back after seven years in Kansas City. Yes, it’s Mike—and the cadence of that sentence, as I write it, reminds me of the intro to the black-and-white Superman reruns the two of us watched as kids:
Yes, it’s Superman…strange visitor from another planet, who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man! Superman…who can change the course of mighty rivers…bend steel in his bare hands…and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter…
Yes, it’s Mike, strangely youthful refugee from tornado alley, who came to Florida with powers and abilities far beyond those of a typical 52-year-old man! Mike…who is always in a good mood…believes that no task is too daunting…and who, disguised as a mild-mannered Embarq employee, still has energy after work to peel wallpaper all evening in his nephew’s bedroom!
It is such a gift to have my childhood companion around again. Mike and I both avoid flying, so we had hardly seen each other the years he lived far away. I had thought we were keeping in touch pretty well, but now that he’s back, I realize there had been a huge, brother-shaped void in my life.
The impact of my only sibling’s presence goes far beyond the spanking white plaster walls that, thanks to Mike’s enthusiasm, are emerging from under the wallpaper in Sam’s room. It’s as if an area in my brain—and in my heart—had been wallpapered over for a few years, but now it’s been revealed again, a beautiful sibling relationship in all its shining glory. I already had an embarrassment of riches, what with my wonderful husband, kids, parents, in-laws, and friends. Now, I’m a full-time, in-person sister again, and I’m loving it, even more than Sam is loving his walls without baby blue stars and moons.
Here’s hoping all your wallpaper comes off easily and all your family members bring you as much joy as mine do. Thanks for reading Our Town!
Not since “Picket Fences” and “Ingathering – The Complete People Stories” have I found a venue that can hocket me back and forth between belly laughs and wistful mistiness so readily. I hope, somewhere along the line, you’ll consider compiling these into a book. I’d be giving away lots of copies, I can tell you that. Wonderful!!
Wow, I just opened up this comment capability tonight and there’s already a comment! Thanks for reading, and for the comparison to “Picket Fences” — now I need to track down “Ingathering…” Not familiar with it, but I will be soon.
–Sandy
Over the years, a few people have told me they’d buy a book if we printed one up (after all, Our Town does own a printing press!). I’m waiting until I know we’d be able to get rid of, say, at least 15 or 20 of them!