LIFE

You read the title right: My sister set the house on fire...or at least part of it. I am eight and a half years older than my twin little sisters. That means I'll graduate from college before they finish middle school. Because I am so much older, I babysit them *literally* all of the time.

My freshman year of high school, my parents went out to dinner one night so I was in charge of the five year olds. After they ate dinner, I sent them up to their bedroom to put on their PJs. I was washing the dishes when I listened. The house was quiet. 

My house is *never* quiet.

I knew something had to be up. I went into their room. In the middle of the floor was a stack of beanbag chairs, stuffed animals and pillows. One of my sisters was standing on top of the pile of fluff holding my other sister in the air. They were throwing things at the chandelier on the ceiling! And then I looked at the light...

A striped purple shirt was covering two light bulbs. There was smoke all around it and I could see little flames under the shirt. I turned the light off, grabbed the girls and the phone. As I dragged them outside, they explained that they were trying to get the shirt down by throwing another shirt at it. *Thank goodness* I found them before they got all of their shirts on the chandelier...OMG. 

We went outside and I called my parents. I asked them what I should do. My dad said to get the shirt off the chandelier. I reminded him it was literally on fire. But that didn't seem to bother him.

We ran back into the house, and went into their room. I was tall enough to reach the flaming, smoking, ashy shirt, and one of the sleeves was far enough away from the flame that I could touch it without getting burned. I told my sister to fill the sink up with water and stop the drain. I grabbed the shirt, rushed into the bathroom and threw it in the sink. The flames died immediately.

The clear light bulbs were black, but the fire was out, and more importantly, everyone was safe. I ran the tub water and rinsed the top out. It fell into pieces and one of the sleeves turned into ashes. My sister came over and asked me if I could fix the shirt. I told her no, at which she screamed, "But that's my favorite shirt!" Eyeroll.

What I learned from all of this ...

Being brave is a pretty amazing feeling. Plus it pays off.
I'll be honest, grabbing a shirt that was caught on fire was really scary. But I knew it's what had to be done and I didn't have a ton of time to find a different solution. I felt good about being able to handle the whole situation, plus my parents really admired how I dealt with it.  

Confidence is contagious to other parts of your life.
 After saving our house from turning into ashes, I felt really confident—in my ability to solve problems and respond responsibly under pressure, in my ability to get out of tough situations and in babysitting other kids. I can handle anything they throw at me. Not to mention, if I can put out a fire with grace, mean girls at lunch have *nothing* on me.

What's the most *insane* thing your little sibs have done? Tell us in the comments!

by Aly Prouty | 7/25/2017