My Sort-Of Brother

Leading up to a remarkably different Mother's Day, I spent the week counting my blessings.  It was my way of keeping tears and pity-parties at bay, and for the most part it worked.  I have a lot to be thankful for, and many I have already shared:  My husband and brother-in-law, my dad, and my sister.  I even had the good fortune of being featured on a blog series titled Life Changing Moments.  This post introduces a new family member; one that I know I can count on for a shoulder when needed, and a laugh at any given moment. 

My uncle was ten-years-old when I was born.  Poor kid was poised and ready to be the doted-upon, youngest child in a family of seven, and then I made my debut as first niece and grandchild, pigtails, glasses and all.  We spent a lot of time together when I was young, and I know I was a monumentally huge pain more often than not, much like a little sister can be.  Like siblings, I think we can both look back on those tumultuous times and laugh, knowing they brought us closer with each spat and squabble.  I wonder if he remembers:

• the time I went into his bedroom, after being told specifically NOT to, and glued his model car pieces together in a big tower that I was quite proud of...until he saw it.
• that he told me his fish would bite my fingers off if I put them in the tank. (They were goldfish.)
• when I went to Florida to visit, and I got mad because he went off with his friends instead of playing with me, so I took my Me'me're's advice and removed the wheels from his skateboard while he was gone. (I was five...it was actually quite impressive work.)

Those are simply a few of my shining moments.  A total pest, and yet despite all of the hassle, I know he's always loved me, and he has proven to be an unwavering pillar of strength during some of life's toughest moments.  I know remembers:

• the very last time my Me'me're was taken to the hospital before she lost her battle with cancer.  He was only eighteen, I'm sure he knew what was happening, and he stayed with me instead of going to the hospital.  I remember it as if it were this afternoon. The sun painted the sky a bright orange color as it set, and we sat outside together for the longest time.  I don't even remember going in the house, or what happened later that night.  I remember that he could have been at the hospital, but he was with me, siting in the side yard, silently watching the sun set on life as we knew it.

As you can imagine, he has been rock-solid through this tragedy.  At the onset, he sat for hours in the hospital waiting room, called and texted with updates, and held me close as her gurney was rolled down the hall to the ambulance bay.  He gathered clothes, made trips between houses and hospitals, and did his best to get Dad to eat.  I know for a fact, there is nothing he would not have done.  Every family needs a man like this, and I am so grateful that he is part of ours.  It is my hope that if he is ever in need of the kind of strength he's provided for me, I can be strong enough to hold him up and make the kind of difference he has made for me.