In North Africa, A Love For All Seasons

"Hey mom." I said.

"Yes honey?" she replied. She was in the kitchen, cooking dinner for my little brother and I.

"I've got a big test tomorrow." I said. "And I need to study tonight."

"Oh honey, you know how your little brother is when he doesn't get his 8 hours of sleep." my mother explained.

My younger brother is 12 years old, just like me. He's autistic and doesn't sleep without lights on, or without being rocked by one of us, or constantly being talked to by one of us. It can be taxing being a caretaker for him, but it really isn't so bad. We're pretty close as siblings go, so it's alright. He's actually quite cute when he's asleep and not making all sorts of noises and movements that are just bizarre to watch.

"Sorry mom, but this is really important." I said. "I really have to study tonight."

My mother sighed heavily, then started talking about how she didn't want to deprive my brother of his rest, but that she could also understand why I needed some quiet time to study for an important test the next day. It was an ongoing argument between us in fact; I wanted privacy sometimes away from her and my little brother, but she wanted us all to be together as much as possible because she thought we were all best friends.

She eventually conceded that I could go up to my bedroom and study for a few hours after dinner if I kept a light on so that my little brother would feel more secure while he slept. That wasn't good enough for me though; I demanded that after dinner was finished up, she'd come into my room and sit with me while I studied, at least until my little brother fell asleep or became calmer after rocking him back and forth in her arms while softly singing lullabies to him until he dozed off. My mother gave me an exasperated look, and grumbled something unintelligible under her breath about "spoiled children", but relented nonetheless and agreed to help out with my little brother until his bedtime arrived. We continued making dinner together in silence after that, both of us continuing our respective tasks in relative peace and quiet as we cooked whatever it was we were cooking up together before my mother had decided to ask me if I could please turn on some music while we worked together on the meal together. We had spaghetti with meat sauce on the menu tonight; it's one of my favorite dishes of hers because it's delicious and easy to make while taking hardly any time at all at the same time! Yum!

After supper was done up nicely and plated up onto three plates each containing a nice helping of pasta topped with fancy sauce & cheese...mmm...my mom went upstairs first with mine & my little brothers plate of food in hand, telling me that she'd be waiting for me in my room once I'd finished up studying for a bit before heading upstairs myself with our plates all ready prepared for eating later on in the evening once we were done clearing up from our meal together as a family unit before heading off to bed for the rest of the night individually. After everything had been cleaned up from our family meal together earlier that evening, I went upstairs myself carrying two plates filled with food along with cups filled with ice water for myself & my mom along with plastic spoons & forks wrapped inside paper napkins so we could eat from our plates without dirtying them further once they'd been set down onto my desk next to several textbooks on subjects related directly to the exam I had tomorrow morning before heading off toward bed; yay! The studying will finally begin! But first...time for some restroom business! Yes! Urination & defecation are pretty important things no matter what age you are; even very young children may still need these things at times too...but only if they're allowed to use the bathroom by those responsible adults who are caring for them at any given moment while they're awake! Haha...I remember when I was younger & had first gotten into trouble because I hadn't bothered asking permission from either of my parents in order to use the bathroom whenever nature called me urgently during the night! Oh man...that was one helluva embarassing experience having wet myself so badly around both of them after waking up every hour during the night needing desperately to use the bathroom due to having drunk lots of liquids during supper & being unable to wake either parent up easily enough during those early morning hours when they're normally sound asleep after working hard all day long during their jobs at their workplaces nearby while also taking care of both myself & my little brother too! Thankfully they didn't punish or scold me too terribly hard afterward because they understood that accidents happen sometimes no matter who you are or how old you are...though still not nearly as much fun cleaning yourself off properly afterwards when your clothes are soaked through with urine soaking through your boxers too...ick!! So gross!! But at least nothing bad happened after those early morning accidents; thankfully no one else found out about them either way other than both of my parents themselves who helped clean me up quickly afterwards since it was still pretty early outside on most school days anyway where most kids were already getting ready in their rooms before heading downstairs as quietly as possible into kitchens filled with mommies & daddies who were busy preparing breakfasts before everyone left home together headed off toward schools & workplaces located elsewhere nearby where everyone continued their normal daily routines like nothing unusual ever happened again afterward despite having washed myself clean using water provided by both Mommy & Daddy afterward where I'm glad not too many people found out what happened either way despite having learned from those mistakes afterward never going anywhere longer than absolutely necessary without asking permission beforehand whether it's visiting restrooms or going somewhere else altogether like running errands or getting groceries needed for meals later on when mommies & daddies are busy working hard elsewhere at their offices or places of employment elsewhere nearby instead! Yes!! It's weird thinking about old times like that now...I wonder how many parents today would act embarrassed if their children wet themselves badly often enough due to poor bladder control? Or would they just let nature take its course? Either way sounds gross if you ask me honestly...hopefully if any children living today ever end up wetting themselves frequently enough around others who don't know them well enough personally already then hopefully those poor kids will get some new cloths sooner rather than later so no one finds out about something embarrassing like that happening around strangers too often anymore...duh!! What a terrible thing that would be!! haha..hmm? Oh right! Back to studying now! Almost forgot! Time is money after all! See ya later mommy! See ya later little bro!!! Have fun tonight!!!♥