The Good News

I have a daughter who is 12 going on 17, and a son who's 11 going on six.

They're about 18 months apart - not much different than the age gap between my own little sister and brother. I was three years older than my sister, so my adult life has turned out, in that respect, the same as my childhood; listening to constant, low-level sibling rivalry.

I picked them up last night when I got back from Des Moines. I was talking with daughter. "How'd it go?"

"Hmph", she said. Sibling rivalry. "I hate him".

"Well, bun, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that you can't get rid of him."

"Hmpfh"

"The good news", I continued, "is that you both love each other very much", I said, turning on the saccharine.

"Blah", she said. "What's the real good news?"

I grinned and shrugged my shoulders.

"Oh, I know," she said. "You got a great deal on car insurance at GEICO, right?"