I Have a Brother!

Normally people say this right about their time their mother delivers a baby boy, but in this case it's been such a long time since I saw or spoke to my little brother that it's kind of a big surprise, and not just for me. My mother was also rather surprised with the sudden physical evidence that she has a son. Being the middle child in the family between 2 girls who were always getting in trouble, and also being kind of quiet and well-behaved, I guess it was only a matter of time before he got left behind in the frozen food section of the supermarket.

I think it was about 14 years ago when he left for Manchester with 10 packets of Maggie noodles to further his education and broaden his horizons. Now he is back from 8 years of living in Manhattan, completely flat broke, and it seems quite clear that the last time he had a haircut was when he left Singapore 14 years ago. I guess haircuts are expensive in the Big Apple.

He is now staying with The Mother, and seems to be quite happy living under her roof again, with the free accommodation, laundry, cleaning and catering service and also the 2 free haircuts he has received since coming home (the first cut was not quite short enough for parental approval).

I wonder how long he will last when she progresses to Phase 2 and replaces all his underwear, tee-shirts and shorts with 'Mother's Choice'. My husband did express some surprise when he came home and all his house shorts were replaced with 'Mother In Law's Choice' but he seems to have settled into his bright purple house shorts quite well, so hopefully my brother will be able to cope. I'm sure there are worse things in life that one could complain about, like coming back broke and living with your mother at the ripe old age of 32. Hur hur hur. I guess one is never too old for sibling rivalry.