Brother or Sitter

With Christopher being eight years older than Brendan sometimes it was hard to decide when watching him stopped and being a brother started. The boys were 8 and 16 when we went to the lake with friends. The water was calm in one area and like small rapids a little down the way. I had no intention of going in the water. Christopher said he would watch Brendan. About an hour later, Christopher comes and tells me when the other children want to be in the calm end Brendan wants to be in the other end and vice versa. I told Christopher I would change and go in the water with Brendan and asked him to give me five minutes. Off I went to change. When I got to the water most of the children were in the rapid end. I got in the calm end with Christopher and Brendan. We played for a bit and I asked Christopher "I thought you wanted to go to the rapid end." Then came the questions: "Well what are you going to do if Brendan goes under or starts floating downstream?" I assured Christopher that I could handle it as I was a good swimmer, on the swim team in high school, and the lake really wasn't too deep. He just stayed. I tried to explain it was ok. Then finally I asked Brendan if he wanted to go to the rapid end. I made sure with Christopher he wouldn't mind both of us going with him. And the three of us stayed in the rapid end the rest of the afternoon. It was a very pleasant day.