The Power Of Cuddles!

My older brother and I have always been pretty close. When I was four and he was eight, we were watching TV on the couch wearing our PJs. I was on my back with my legs over his lap while he was sitting on a side of the couch with the footrest out and petting my shins. Our parents entered the living room to take over the TV and watch with us until we went to bed.

Mom: “Aww, you two look so sweet!”

Our parents gushed about the scene of young sibling affection and sat down. However, something was different this time. Usually, when the parents came to relax for the evening, the kids would get kicked off the sides of the couch so our parents could sit back with the reclining seats. The kids would be relegated to sitting in the middle together or one or two of us would use the less comfortable chair; our sister was six at the time, and if she joined us, it could get crowded. This time, Mom sat in the middle after I sat up and Dad sat next to her on the other side. My brother and I were left to share the prime real estate of the other reclining seat and were much more comfortable than usual.

My brother did the math and realized that giving our parents a cute scene meant we got to stay in one of the reclining seats of the couch. The next evening, my brother made sure I was laying down with my head on his lap before our parents entered the living room. Sure enough, our parents let us keep the reclining seat for the evening again.

The third night, we messed it up. We were sitting next to each other casually, too engrossed in the TV to remember our plan until our parents came into the room. I quickly scrambled into his arms and we apparently had the most obvious expectant look on our faces.

My mom laughed and complimented us on our plan, but the gig was up and we were resigned to being moved back to the middle seat from then on.

And that is the story of how my brother and I tried to use strategic cuteness to manipulate our parents into letting us stay on the more comfortable part of the couch.