My older brothers had a bunk bed, my little brother had his own bed and my sister and I shared a queen-sized bed.

We also shared countless hours of strange bedtime rituals: she would put on her school uniform (white blouse and brown plaid jumper) and pull her nightgown over it — that was for early morning efficiency... I would skip the uniform step and go right to the nightgown.

I was so slow!

She would coat her arms in Elmer's Glue,

I would dress and redress Raggedy Ann.

I don't know if she shared my fear of the monster under the bed.

No, what am I saying? She did not. In fact, she created the fear!

Siblings can be so cruel.

That's the sound that March makes — that and a muffled sobbing. February triggers cabin fever but March in Minnesota is far more dangerous. 

Here's a story about March: One Christmas, Santa put a baby albino rabbit under the tree — so delightful! 

The little rabbit grew into a big rabbit and by the next Winter, our basement smelled like the bunny barn at the State Fair. With scraps of wood and a bale of hay, I built an outdoor rabbit hutch.

In a pinch, it could serve as a coffin for an adult man.

IN A PINCH.

By March it was buried under several feet of snow and I'd order my eldest to go spend time with the rabbit in the snow coffin. 

The moral of the story is: Get a dog.

And something about March creating crazy. Thank God I have an outlet for my March crazy:

For Immediate Release: In an attempt to build the Zeichen Press Fan Base, Jen Shea and Fran Shea will appear on a local cable-access show locked in a cell and covered in Fancy Feast™. 1,000 cats will be released into the cell through a small hatch. Fran and Jen will sing a medley of famous duets, including Islands In the Stream, Endless Love, and You Don't Bring Me Flowers.

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