I saw this quote and it just made me laugh because I have THAT memory too.

You think you can
hurt my feelings?
I used to hold the
flashlight for my dad.

My brother was 11 years older than me so I was basically an only child for most of my childhood that I can remember. He had left for college when I was 7 and never really was home again full time after that.

We were a close family and did a lot of things together. We’d spend time in the mountains hiking or fishing or camping. My dad and I would bike together. My mom and I did a lot of crafts and cooking together. Pretty standard stuff.

And my dad was usually extremely patient. He’d spend time helping me figure out how to do a math problem or give me actual historical context for things we were studying in school. He’d teach me how to do basic maintenance when he was working on things around the house. He was pretty good fixing things.

Except for plumbing. My father absolutely hated plumbing. He refused to call a plumber unless it was an emergency, but it was the one thing that he dreaded. My mom learned to leave and come back when the project was complete.

So, the dreaded flashlight holding would fall to me. I did learn quite a bit of new vocabulary while holding the flashlight even if I wasn’t allowed to use my new words at home. Plumbing was always out to get him and he made sure he gave as good as he got.

“I need light.”

“Why are you pointing it down/up?”

“Not there!”

“Give me the flashlight!”

“Hold it still.”

“Move it to the right/left.”

“It needs batteries?”

It still makes me laugh. Even a patient person has their limits.