Barefoot Girl, Favorite Sibling

by Tania WL (as recounted by my sister Lynn)

While I have been living the barefoot lifestyle pretty much since I was a kid, my little sister Sharleen (aka Lynn for short) was a little different. Although she never liked wearing anything on her feet as a kid, her barefooting was limited to inside and around the house. On occasion she would venture out barefoot in the streets of our neighborhood, but not in stores or other establishments. She was a late bloomer.

Our little brother Kevin has never been a barefooter. He would go barefoot inside the house as it's the norm here on the islands, but once he stepped outside, even like to the backyard, he would wear Crocs (those shoes with holes on them), his favorite footwear.

When we were kids he loved to play and hang out with Lynn coz he said she was the nicest of all his siblings. He didn't like me very much, even kinda afraid of me as I used to be mean to him. Yeah, I used to have a lot of issues as a child and could be nasty at times. I changed a lot through the years though, and I'm no longer like that today. In fact, Lynn (bless her heart) complimented me saying that since I have a very positive attitude now, I could be Tony Robbins' assistant, lol.

Steve and Debbie were nice but they're quite a bit older and often busy with school, so they very seldom spent time with Kevin. Lynn is the closest to him in age (they're like 18 months apart).

Lynn and I always got along well though, even during my rough years. We shared a bedroom and always went to school together riding the bus. Well, one time I went on a school retreat, and mom didn't want Lynn to ride the bus by herself (she was like 9 at the time), so she decided to drive both her and Kevin to school although they went to different schools. Kevin really enjoyed having Lynn with him in the car to and from school.

He thought she looked really cool in her school uniform which consisted of a dark brown skirt, a white shirt with the school badge on it, a dark brown tie, and an optional dark brown handkerchief that stuck out of her shirt pocket. Yeah, the uniform looked really elegant and Lynn really liked wearing it too. She would often leave it on for a while even after she got home and took off her shoes and socks.

Sharleen and Kevin

So one day after school they were both sitting in the living room. Lynn was barefoot but still in full uniform, and was playing with her phone. Kevin was looking at her like in fascination thinking that she didn't notice, but when she looked back at him he quickly looked away. So she asked him nonchalantly, "Kev, why were you looking at me?"

He was like, "uh...no I wasn't!" and he quickly picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages. Lynn giggled and he became even more nervous.

Feeling bad, she later said to him, "hey Kev, why don't you come sit here next to me!"

He was a little stunned and was like, "uh...why?"

She told him, "cuz I wanna show you this really fun game!" He hesitated so Lynn said, "come on, you're gonna love it!" After a while playing games together he was finally at ease.

Let me digress and tell you an interesting story.

***Begin digression***

One day we had relatives visiting us and one of them casually asked Kevin who his favorite sibling was, expecting him to say it was Steve our oldest brother as he's the only male sibling so they figured he would relate to him most. But to their surprise he said it was Lynn.

When they asked him why, he said, "because she's the nicest, she's never mean, she plays with me a lot, and also because...(he paused for a few seconds) she's very pretty!" and he giggled a little, kinda nervously. He said it all with such purity and innocence but everyone was kinda shocked to hear it, especially that last part.

Unbeknownst to him, Lynn overheard the whole thing as she happened to be sitting in the library right next to the family room where the conversation took place. Lynn wasn't really shocked though, cuz she had sensed it already from the way he sometimes acted when he was with her (read above), but she was surprised he told it to others.

Well, he later learned that Lynn had heard all that he said to the relatives, and he freaked out. He was extremely embarrassed that he refused to talk to Lynn or even come near her for days! Every time he saw her he would run away which actually made Lynn sad. He wouldn't even go to the tent, their favorite hang-out place (read below).

So mom finally intervened and told him that he did nothing wrong, and there was nothing to be ashamed of as he only spoke nice things about her. It took him a while to overcome his feelings, but they gradually became close to each other again. Even today Kevin still blushes when he remembers that incident.

In case you think this is kinda weird, read this post about what took place prior to all of this.

***End digression*** 

Anyway, since they were having so much fun playing games together, they decided to do it again the next morning on the way to school. So Kevin and Lynn sat together in the back seat (normally one of them would sit in the front). Since they were in a hurry Lynn jumped in the car barefoot, planning to put her socks and shoes on later, right before they reached the school. But as they were so busy playing games she completely forgot to do that.

So as they arrived at the school Lynn realized that she was still barefoot! Mom scolded me for not putting them on earlier as there were lots of cars around, and she couldn't stop too long in front of the school.

Mom just went on and on, so as Lynn was stepping out of the car she said to her, "Mom, chill! Or you're gonna grow lots of gray hair!"

Mom barked, "Hey, how dare you talk to me like that!" But by then Lynn already shut the door, and she giggled and made faces at mom as she ran toward the school entrance. Kevin was grinning in the back seat.

Later on the way home Lynn took off her shoes and socks in the car wanting to feel comfortable. But mom decided to stop at the grocery store. Ok, so...what was she supposed to do? It was too much of a hassle to put her socks and shoes back on, but it was too hot to wait in the car. So she asked mom if she could just go into the store barefoot but mom vehemently objected.

Mom scolded her the second time that day, saying she was still in uniform and it would be totally inappropriate to go barefoot in public, and she shouldn't have taken off her shoes so fast. She later kinda relented and said, "well, you don't have to put your socks on if you don't want to, just wear your shoes!" Lynn was like, "Yay!" That wouldn't be all that bad. Btw, this happened shortly before they dropped the socks requirement as told in the barefoot at school story.

While I was gone Kevin wanted to sleep together with Lynn at night. Lynn had a queen bed but our room was off limits to him as it was also my room, and he didn't want to have anything to do with me (lol). But Kevin's bed was a twin which was not big enough for both of them to sleep in. 

So Lynn told him she could bring a sleeping bag and sleep on the floor in his room. He said he should be the one sleeping on the floor. So they were arguing back and forth, and dad heard them, and he came up with a brilliant idea. He said, "Since you're both willing to sleep in a sleeping bag, why not do it outside in a tent!" We happened to have a 2-person tent which was perfect.

They were excited beyond belief! Imagine how much fun they would have camping out in the backyard. So dad set up the tent in the backyard near the pool, and they had a fantastic time together. Lynn would often read stories to him although he said he liked it better when mom did it since Lynn sounded like a little kid! Well, duh! They also played lots of games and ate lots of snacks. Even in the daytime after school they would hang out in the tent and do a lot of fun stuff.

Kevin had a meltdown right before I came home. He said Lynn would go back to me and wouldn't spend much time with him anymore. They wouldn't be going to school together, and they would say goodbye to their tent. He even cried which made Lynn sad too.

So when I came home we all made a deal - Lynn would sleep in the room with me from Monday to Thursday, and would sleep in the tent with Kevin on weekends (Friday to Sunday). That actually worked out pretty well. Everyday after school he and Lynn were still able to hang out in the tent, and they both always looked forward to the weekends.

Well, here's a funny story. Like previously said, Kevin always wore his Crocs outside the house. So in the beginning he would wear them even to the tent. So Lynn told him to just leave his shoes at the door and walk barefoot to the tent. He refused, saying he wouldn't want to get his feet dirty again after washing them before bedtime. Yeah, mom taught all of us this ritual of washing our feet before going to bed even when they weren't dirty (sigh!), and being a good boy, Kevin was always obedient.

Lynn told him they didn't need to wash their feet before bed when they were sleeping outside. Besides, his feet wouldn't get that dirty just from walking barefoot in the backyard. He wouldn't listen, so one Friday evening Lynn (being mischievous as she was) decided to hide his Crocs. Yeah, she was the nicest and was never mean, right? Lol.

When it came time for them to go to the tent, Kevin was frustrated as he couldn't find his Crocs. He strongly suspected that Lynn took 'em and of course, she denied it. Then he said. "I'm gonna tell mom and she's gonna twist your ear!" Ouch! Yeah, that was mom's favorite method of punishing her naughty kids :) But would Kevin have the heart to let that happen to his favorite sibling? :p

Lynn laughed and said, "Go ahead, tell her! You can't prove that I took your shoes!" He screamed in frustration.

Then Lynn grabbed his hand and tried to drag him to the tent while he was barefoot, telling him not to be a sissy. But being a boy, he was actually stronger. He resisted and won. He was going to get another pair of shoes, so Lynn told him, "Forget it, Kev! You're being very difficult. Either you come with me now or I'll just sleep in my room tonight, and you can do whatever!"

Well, that got him thinking. And more frustrated. Decision time! Sleeping in the tent was a big thing for him, but he would never do it by himself. So he finally said, "Ok...I'll go now" and begrudgingly walked towards the tent in his bare feet.

When they got into the tent Lynn said to him, "Now that wasn't really that bad, was it?"

He admittedly said, "No, coz the grass is soft. It wasn't like that time when we went barefoot to the mall and restaurant where I stepped on a lot of stuff that hurt my feet." (Read Barefoot Sisters).

Lynn laughed and pulled out his Crocs that she had hidden in there. Once again he screamed, "Aaargh! I knew it! You're the one who took 'em!"

"So...are you still gonna tell mommy?" she teased, already knowing the answer.

He was quiet for a few seconds and then pouted and shook his head. Lynn giggled and told him he should learn to loosen up. Well, he eventually gave up his "hygienic" habit.

Btw, all this happened prior to the embarrassing incident above, so he apparently overlooked it.

Dad took down the tent at the start of the rainy season (the winter months) for they wouldn't want to sleep outside when it was raining hard. Besides, the temperature can go down to the 60s at night which is a bit chilly. Then dad bought Kevin a queen bed so that both he and Lynn could sleep in his room comfortably whenever it was raining or too cold.

This went on for a few years and they enjoyed it very much until it came time when our parents said it was no longer appropriate for the two of them to sleep together. The backyard near the pool is still their favorite place to hang out today although there's no longer a tent. Yes, Kevin still goes barefoot there but that's about the extent of his barefooting.

Today they are very close and open with each other like best friends. Kevin often comes to Lynn for advice on life issues (since she's older and wiser, lol). He doesn't currently have a girlfriend and likes going places with Lynn and make people think she's his gf. Yes, even when she's barefoot.

They both know he likes her in more ways than one - her positive attitude, her playfulness, as well as her physical attributes. So they set boundaries and there are certain lines they never cross. They love each other as siblings and best friends. Kevin told Lynn he wished to have a gf with her qualities although he wouldn't be too disappointed if she wasn't a barefooter, haha!

Lynn told him, "Don't worry, one day you'll find her, but you've gotta look and can't be too shy."

Ok folks, hope you enjoyed this interesting story. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

References:
Barefoot Sisters
Barefoot at School