Today is my big brother’s birthday so I thought I would take a moment and reflect on the relationship I have with this man.
Many woman I suppose, aren’t close to their brothers….men don’t always “get” us women. This is not true for my brother, but why? Why is our relationship so different than most brother and sisters?
I have a sister that is 14 years older than me..so I was only 4 when she left for college. That left just my brother and I at home. I have fond memories of us playing together. Family vacations meant my brother and I in the backseat trying to come up with all kinds of creative things to play. Then by the end of the trip, I would be curled up in his lap sleeping.
My brother is 4 years older than me so some of my earliest memories are of mom saying….take your sister.
I adored him. I remember seeing him at school and running to give him a kiss. He wasn’t to happy about the kiss but I was grinning ear to ear. He was my big brother and I wanted the world to know.
He would walk me to school and later, he would drive me places. He always made me ride in the backseat but that is ok…he took me. In fact most of our lives we have hung out together.
I suppose I had always felt that our relationship was just one sided until my high school graduation. My brother was in the Air Force by then and he flew in to surpise me on my special day. I was glowing. From that moment on, I knew that he felt the same way about me as I did about him.
We had a bond…we still do.
My children look up to him…I admire him….he is my husband’s best friend.
Why? How?
Take your sister….simple words spoken by a mother that have made all the difference.
My mother wanted nothing more than her children to be close…to be there for each other.
He is still taking me everywhere….we are planning an Alaskan cruise next year.
So what are you doing today to help build lasting relationships between your kids? They don’t have to be the same sex…or even close in age. They just have to be taught to care about each other. It’s a gift a mother can give that can last a life time.
Happy Birthday Brother
Thanks mom…
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This is so wonderful. My son and daughter are close. Not as close as I would like but they are good friends and it is funny at age 34 she still calls him ‘brother’… instead of his name.
I enjoy seeing them together.
Oh we are going on an alaskan cruise too for our ’40th’ my husand and I are looking for the best deal and the best ‘cruise setting’ too.
suggestions are wonderful if you have any.
I love this post! My children are very close to one another and it is one of my favorite things about my family.
Happy birthday to your brother. He shares the day with my youngest son.
This is everything I dream of. My 30 year old son is best friend with his 26 year old sister. It wasn’t always so. I remember the days of “she’s breathing my air” and “he’s touching MY side”. There were many conversations at the dinner table about sibling love and we nurtured them, wished it for them, guided. When he was 9, something clicked at Christmas…. and after that, they’ve been best buds. They’ve had some tough times, but they are always there for each other, different as night and day, my two blessings… I love watching them together. I love when, for some reason, I don’t speak to my son for a week, and I know, he’s been in text contact everyday with his sister. I love watching him with her year old daughter….. and his excitement as he waited outside the delivery room was overwhelming. He couldn’t wait to meet his niece, but he rushed to his sister’s side when that door opened, and looked in her eyes… and said “tell me you’re good”. Then proceeded to put his finger up at her eye and said “I’m not touching you”. I love my children. I love that we still get together for Sunday dinner . I love that he is close to her husband. I love that, as different as they are, they have similar talents and interests and share them. I could ramble forever about these blessings. Thank you for writing the post that lets me see into their lives a few years down the road.
Oh Cindy….thank you for sharing. I smiled all the way thru. My brother and I use to have the same little fights…in fact we still do. Just ask us about me falling off the tractor when I was 7 and how it happened….we will go on and on about who’s fault it was. No one knows you better than the sibling that would hold whatever you wanted just out of arms reach as you went nuts trying to figure out how to get it.
I love this post! Thank you. I was surprised, when our daughter was born, that my husband was anxious about her relationship with our first-born, a son (I think he was hoping for same-sex maybe?) because he and his sister “never got along”. I assured him that that would not be the case because they were “not allowed to not get along”. . .that’s how *I* was raised. His mother truly didn’t care that they didn’t like each other and even now, to my children, she will joke about how much they tortured one another growing up. We have four children and I truly believe that if they didn’t have us they would still have each other and they would be o.k. Sibling relationships are so very important. I would give/do anything for my brother or sister on a moment’s notice. . .although I can’t say I have the relationship that you do — that is a rare and precious gift and it’s so nice to see it celebrated! Have fun planning that cruise
Aunt Dianne, this made me cry. Because of how you, my mom, my dad and my Uncle set the example is exactly the reason I am wanting to move back ‘home’. Although my brother and I may not be as close as you and my dad, I do remember the days I was really close to your daughters. I can only dream that in 20 years from now, your blogging daughter can write something equally nice about our relationship! (Cuz let’s face it, I don’t ‘blog’! HAHA) Thank you for always saying the right things at the right times and for setting such a great example for all of us kids! Love you so much!
Thank you sweetie…some of my happiest memories are when we were all under one roof. I too hope that you and my girls relationships will only get closer with time. And even though it would be wonderful to have you “home” remember…my brother and I have stayed close even though for years we lived far far away from each other. If it is something you want you can have it.
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