When I was about 7, I had a 12 year old brother and a 3 year old sister.
One afternoon, my mother left us in the care of our 12 year old brother. He read some books to my little sister, and then he took her into the kitchen and made her some goo-goo goggles.
To make goo-goo goggles, you need an empty toilet paper roll, plastic wrap, glue, and two rubber bands.
My brother cut the empty toilet paper roll in half, glued the halves together and secured clear plastic wrap onto the ends of the tubes with rubber bands.
I thought it was SO cool.
I asked him if he could make some for me.
He said if I could find an empty toilet paper roll, he most definitely would.
I sprinted into the kids’ bathroom… the roll was fattly filled. I sprinted into my parent’s bathroom… their roll was only half empty.
I knew I shouldn’t…
but I wanted some of those amazing goo-goo-goggles SO bad.
So I unrolled, and unrolled, and unrolled.
I checked over my shoulder constantly to make sure no one would catch me.
Minutes later, I handed my brother the empty toilet paper roll.
“Where did you find this?” He asked.
I swear he could see into my soul, so I didn’t answer.
“Did you waste the toilet paper on this roll?” He asked.
He knew! He KNEW! Fighting the truth was hopeless.
So I nodded.
He got after me, and I never got my goo-goo goggles. EVER.
Two days ago, I found my son at the table with an empty toilet paper roll. He cut it in half and slipped each half over his hands.
“Buttons!” he cried out.
I don’t know what the heck he meant by it, but hey! Whatever makes you happy, kid.
And he was happy. The “buttons” made him so happy that he longed to share the joy with his most favorite person in the whole wide world… his older sister.
Except… there was no more empty toilet paper rolls.
But there WAS a roll of toilet paper that was half empty.
He knew he shouldn’t…
I handled the situation the best way I knew how, and looking into the wastebasket and seeing a gigantic pile of clean toilet paper really made me laugh.
After all these years, I finally got payment in kind.
Grandma, no wonder you like these kids so much.
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