My brother

My brother called me at work today with some weird news.  No need to go into it in depth on such a public venue- suffice to say that the old adage,  'wherever you go, there you are', seemed appropriate.  I spent the afternoon feeling a little off, and realized toward the end of the day that my brother and I spent much of our lives burying childhood issues, or, worse, running self-destructively from them.  

Thanks to the support of our parents, as well as various friends, family and mentors, my brother and I grew up and stopped acting like idiots.  Part of this is on account of our incredible determination to be good people.  I think I speak for both of us when I say we want to live happy lives in which we are able to 'give back'.

I spoke with my brother only briefly tonight, and got off the phone feeling truly thankful- not only do we have a loving, supoortive, responsible family, but we grew into caring, sensitive souls, worthy of the various graces we've been given.  We are great parents to our children (the bro has two sweet boys), and have strong friendships.  I always say that I work harder than most of the people I know, but this isn't entirely true.  My brother works his fingers to their bones, provides for his family, and is, alongside my step-dad and my grandfather, the best man I know. 

I'm really, really proud of my brother, for all of the amazing things he has accomplished.  Tonight, as I end my long day, this is where my thoughts keep drifting.  I'm lucky my mama gave me such a strong, sweet brother.