Brothers Visit

 How I prefer to remember my childhood with my younger Brother.

After 14 years living in a State only 3 hours away from where I grew up and where my Brother still lives he finally came for a visit. He arrived on a Friday evening with his girlfriend driving 3 hours without a working air conditioner which did not seem to bother him at all.What a trouper.

My Mother gave birth to 3 Daughters and 2 Sons. For many years my younger Brother stayed away as the middle sister and her eldest Son do today. I never really understood why the separation occurred and the reasons and the stories shared with me were one sided from my Mothers view point. (Not that I don’t believe some of her tells, they quite possibly are true.) It does not really matter why this choice had to be made on my siblings part or on my Mothers. What I found to be a real fear for me because my immediate Family was broken, the same could possibly happen between my Children. I also feared they would one day stop showing me the respect a Mother should be given and stay away completely from me. I no longer live with this fear, Family is as important to me as I believe it has become to my Children. Friends come and go, Family is Forever. In Life no matter what your siblings or Mother says or does, an open line of communication should be maintained at all times in order to move forward and grow a stronger relationship. When you become an adult you have to throw aside hurt feelings and never carry a grudge. Life is really too short for petty squabbles and disagreements. We grow into adult individuals with strong opinions of our own. This should always be respected. You don’t always need to be on the same page in order to enjoy each other for the few hours your paths may cross occasionally. My Brother and I are on the same page when it comes to remembering our childhood. Some of us only want to remember the bad, we choose to remember the stupid and silly things we did as children, the fun my Parents tried to show us, for we remember the good times and do not hold onto the bad. I don’t believe I personally know anyone who actually has lived an uneventful childhood life. Even the rich have troubles of their own with crazy occurrences in their childhood, whether it be abuse, alcoholism or even neglect. No one is removed from the test of will and Faith. I tell my children often as a reminder, “I am THE MOM” when I say this it means we never stop Mothering our children and you only have one Mom who will be there to help pick you up when times are hard and still wipe your tears away when you are hurt and suffering as my Mother would do for me even now if possible.

My Brothers visit was enjoyed by all.Good food, good company drinking and fun. My Daughters shared themselves with an Uncle they hadn’t seen in possibly 10 years and loved every minute.

Thank You for the visit I still believe you would even today protect me from harm. as you did when we were Children.