My brother, the brute: Kelli's perspective

"Oh Kel, they're just playing".

Those were the words my mother spoke whenever my brothers injured me.

I only know this first story because my mother related it to me when I was older.

My brothers were awake and I was in my crib. They pulled all of my stuffed animals out of the crib, one by one. Then it was my turn. They each took an arm and flung me out of the crib.

Not to be vicious. Just to play.

Fast forward six years. A family gathering was taking place downstairs. I was being the annoying little sister, battling for my brother's attention again. Matt, at age eight, obviously didn't understand the physics of smothering. He became very annoyed with me and put a pillow on my face and sat on it.

Not to kill me. Not to hurt me. He was too young to know it could lead to bad things. After about a minute and a half of sitting on the pillow on my face, my short life flashed before my eyes.

Finally he got up.

I ran downstairs. At the table were my mom, my evil stepfather, and my Memere and Pepere. I was crying and told my mother what my brother had done.

Her response? "Kel, they're only playing."

Fast forward to a day at the bus stop. I admit, I was an annoying little sister. I was standing at the bottom of the driveway with my Dancing Donald Duck backpack, trying to annoy my brothers. I was wearing a dress that day with white tights.

I had obviously pressed Matt's last button. He grabbed my Dancing Donald backpack and swung it (and me) around until I fell on the ground, tearing open my leg. I was on the ground crying when Matt saw the bus approaching. Being the protective, big brother that he was, he pulled me off the ground and wiped my tears.

I went through the school day with my wounded leg untouched. By the time I arrived home, the cut that I had sustained had begun to scab with my tights stuck inside it.

My mother, with a warm wet face cloth, dabbed the wound, trying to moisten it in order to pull the tights out.

As I cried about how horrible my brothers were, my mother stated "Kel, he was only playing."

I loved my brothers with all my heart, but seriously Mom?

"Kel, they're only playing" doesn't cut it.