Caroline24's Journal

 

Happy Birthday to my Brother! 

Today is my brother’s birthday and as I did with my sister, I want to take some time and reflect on how much he means to me. Again, we are still estranged and it may be a very long time till we are together again, but I do love him and want to focus on the positive.

He was born when I was about 18 months old and I don’t really remember that part of course. But I do remember him from early days. It was great to have a twin of sorts. We looked a lot alike until we were about 13. People thought we were twins and we acted like that sometimes. Then around then, we both changed from looking alike to looking different, he is tall, I am not, he has dark hair and mine is not and I kept blue eyes and his are more hazel. Also he can eat anything and still need to put on weight and well, all I need to do is know that we are having pasta for dinner and the pounds start approaching! LOL

We have always been very, very different people in personality and outlook, but very much alike inside. I used to say that we were like two sides of a coin. We look different in every way visible and invisible but are made of the same material inside.

Like all close siblings, we played a lot, fought a lot and faced the world together. I have fond memories of playing in a teepee we had in the yard and we were experts in finding secret passageways all over the neighborhood. Our signature was that we could make it from one side of the block to the other without being seen. We crawled under houses, in trees, through driveways and no one could every find us. He used to tease me mercilessly and will tell you today that I became a boss the day he was born !

Until my mom remarried and my sister was born, it was him, me and my mom. We had such a great time as a trio. Great adventures. Though my mom was divorced and did not make a lot of money, we 3 stuck it out and always found fun and beauty.

We lived by a college football stadium and when we were 11-14 or so, we sold parking space in our driveway to make money. We also popped popcorn and sold it. We had those old fashion roller skates with 4 wheels and we skated all over and even learned to jump over things. He was way taller than me by then, but we were a fierce neighborhood team.

As we grew up, our outside differences became more obvious. We are night and day on virtually everything, politics, economy, interests (except books and travel) etc etc.  He got married about 15 years ago, and his wife does not like me at all, while I think she is who he picked and therefore who he loves. The thing about us is that we could fight like there is no tomorrow amongst ourselves, but heaven help anyone who tried to hurt one of us. The other became like a Ninja to protect the harmed one.

So, as I did with my sister, I will list 10 of 10,000 things I love about my brother:

1)      He is modern and somehow old fashion at the same time.

2)      He is incredibly artistic. Way more than any of us in the family. He has an artist’s eye, he literally sees things and can express those visions in photography, art, painting and in all he does.

3)      He never backs down. He stands his ground, no matter the odds.

4)      He is one of the most sensitive men I have ever met. I collect a lot of girly things and over the years, he would spend hours with me in vintage stores and such, going through lace and beads and really care about what I loved.

5)      He is an amazing cook.

6)      He loves his wife so much that it is palpable in the air. They are truly a couple in all senses of the word and seeing the love in his eyes is beautiful.

7)      He reads and travels as much as I do and we can talk for hours about obscure books and discoveries in faraway places.

8)      He is very athletic, a black belt and a snow boarder and road biker.

9)      He loves the outdoors like I do and we have hiked many a path.

10)  He has a sense of whimsy that I adore.

And his one to grow on is that he is about truth and love. I have always felt him right next to me, and though we are not able to speak now, oddly, I can feel him there still.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful brother, I love you and I always will.