Light feeds into my room through my open window making my pale yellow room shine brighter, like a spring daffodil. I sit at my old, worn, chocolate-brown desk, its metal legs supporting my computer screen and the many papers spread across its top. It is quiet in my room save for the sound of the downstairs television set, blaring news reports left and right. I am focused on the papers before me as I am doing my homework, when suddenly the smothered news reports are not the only things I hear.
With a quick click of my bedroom door handle, Denver, my younger sister, enters my room. I turn to see her small mouth moving at the speed of light under her short golden brown hair as she makes her way to my desk.
“Can we watch Monsters Inc.?”, she asks me a little too loudly.
I place my pencil on my desk trying to make a quick decision. I have homework, I think, but I don’t want to let her down. What do I do? I open my mouth and let out a useless
“I don’t know….”
She pleads with me more. “Pleease?” she begs as she holds the movie in my face.
“I have lots of homework to do,” I say, apologetically.
Her face goes from excited to disappointment and she slumps her shoulders, which causes me to make a compromise.
“Fine,” I say, “Put it in my T.V. and we’ll watch it in here.”
She lets out a delighted “Yay!” as she bounds over to my television, her red dress waving its seams behind her. She places the movie in the DVD player as I gather my homework and put it aside. I move my body to my bed and lay down as the movie starts. Denver hops onto my bed with me and lies next to me as we watch the colors and shapes of the movie dance around the blinding television screen. I know I have homework to do, but this time I focus more on my sister’s childhood than my own responsibilities.
As I watch the movie with her, I think of about a year ago when I used to shove her aside and think of her as a nuisance. Back then, I never realized how much she really looks up to me, but when I did, I decided to change. I realized I needed to be a good role model for her so that she would grow up with a good head. So I started to play with her more and talk to her more, and though it can be stressful at times, I do find having my little sister look up to me the way she does very enjoyable. She taught me that I have to think about how my behavior affects others, and now with that mindset in motion I have noticed a change in her behavior. Her monkey-like attitude has changed and she has learned to listen a bit better than she did a year ago. It is times like these simple “movie nights” that make a big difference in her life.
Copyright 2009 Taylor Lane
Could this be a sign that the economy is starting to pick up? 
