Pondering with a Purpose - Siblings

Brenda strikes again....prompting us to use our noodles at least once this week  (though I am sure most of you manage to do it more than that).  If you'd like to join in the fun, just click on the button or the link above.  Both take you to Brenda's place and you'll find the complete rules and links to other participating bloggers.
This Week's Prompt:  Siblings
Uh-oh.  I think I'm already in trouble with this one.  I'm an only child!  Though not from lack of petitioning on my part.  I used to ask for a brother on a regular basis.  That I wanted an older brother was probably a bit problematic.
I once found my own candidate for an older brother.  A boy who came to my high school during my sophomore year.  I only had study hall with Howard, but I thought he was great.  Kinda cute, too.  I thought he'd be a great brother.  My parents, however, saw a few drawbacks that I didn't (other than just the fact that they didn't want another child).  For one, Howard was "in the system."  It could have been simply that his parents couldn't or wouldn't care for him....or it was quite possible he was in it for behavioral issues, possibly criminal issues.  There was also the fact that Howard was black.  My parents weren't prejudice, but  this was small town America in the 70s.  That kind of thing just wasn't done or accepted back then.
My friends in the neighborhood are about as close as I got to having siblings.  We all ran as a pack, got into trouble as a group, kept each other's secrets, tormented each other without mercy.... .but if someone else messed with one of us they were going to be sorry.  We were all at each other's houses so much that most of the time we acted like we were at home no matter whose house it was.  We had such fun!
One time I ran into a friend in the hall at school.  Her brother was picking her up for a dental appointment.  Well, one trip to the nurse's office and a whole lot of smooth talking and I was on my way down the road with them...the school nurse convinced I was sick and that my brother had picked me up.  Obviously, this was before parents had to sign a kid in and out of school.
Another time I needed a ride home from somewhere and couldn't reach my parents, so I called a friend's brother.  He said he'd come get me but I'd have to help him do his grandmother's grocery shopping.  No problem...I called his grandmother "Bubba" just like he did and adored her.  The problem was, Bubba had a little item called blood pudding on her list.  What the heck was that??  We had no idea and went to every grocery store in two towns, searching the Jell-o aisle in each from one end to the other.  At some point it finally occurred to us to ask someone.  Guess what?  You get blood pudding at the deli.  Who knew?  All we knew was pudding.  We thought blood pudding sounded really gross (and it is!) but the Jell-o aisle made sense to us.  My mom still tells that story.  She doesn't know about the first one, so...shhhhhh.
As an adult I've gotten over my dream of having siblings.  Yes, the boat sailed and it was taken out of my hands, but still, I see the huge fights that go on in some families and I can live without that.  I'm sure there would be some benefits to having brothers and sisters, but being an only child is all I know and it's not so bad.

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