So we’re all aware of the whole Debt Ceiling situation and the narrowly-avoided economic collapse that went with it. I was out of the country while all of this was happening, but the jist of it seemed to be “All 535 Members of Congress are going to act like GIANT BABIES for a week in the face of an upcoming deadline which could be a deciding factor in the future of our country.”
It was all very 8th grade – Republicans wouldn’t compromise with Democrats and acted like bullies, and Democrats voted down anything with a Republican name on it in protest. In the end, Obama ended up giving in quite a bit to the Republicans – not exactly a perfect compromise and symbol of government functioning together.
In honor of this, I’ve chosen 3 fights my little sister Emma and I have had over the years that ended with a more mature outcome.
1. Who Sits in the chair near the stairs at dinner, 1997 – 2007 Typically ended in “whoever got there first” or “whose glass of water/soda was there first”. Sometimes ended in me giving her the seat and me getting it the next day, or vice versa.
2. Who Got More Gelt at Hannukah, 1998 Every year, we got a number of little packets of gold-foil wrapped chocolate to play dreidel with. We’d dump them all out in front of us and started our Jewish version of gambling, until Emma claimed that I had “way more” gelt than she did in the first place and that is why I was winning/a cheater. I ended up giving her two more pieces of gelt as a compromise.
3. Don’t Touch My Stuff, 1994-Present. Little sisters like to touch their older sisters’ stuff. It’s a given. My sister is no exception. We decided to label things we both had (electronics, etc.) and respect each others’ space – although Emma is still an infamous tweezer-thief.
