A birthday wish with a short story

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

my crazy bro, and silly hubby~circa 1997

This is my crazy brother. He just celebrated his 45th birthday which means in five years he'll be 50!! I can't believe it. You know...we weren't close at all while growing up. My grandparents raised him, and it's a long story as to why! One of these days maybe I'll write about it. I lived two blocks away from him, and hardly saw him. There were days when I would escape to his house to feel protected from the things that were happening in my home, but I still felt alone.

You know...having an older brother should be a treat when your a little sister. In my case it wasn't. We were five years apart in age, and lived separately. It didn't help our relationship, but I don't want to look at the past too much with that, and I don't think he'd want to either.

He has been through a lot in his years, and I commend him for having served our country. Sometimes I never knew what was going in his life because of our estrangement. Sad...well not anymore. Although he's in Texas, and I'm here we try our best to keep in touch. Even though we have different fathers I consider him my real brother, and I love him. It didn't matter if he never wanted me around when I was young. Then again, if he and my grandparents knew what was going on behind closed doors in my own home, they probably would have cared enough to be more involved in my life. They never knew the reasons that caused me to escape to their house, and why I would sneak in through their window when no one was home. I was seeking safety, and their unconditional acceptance.

Well, both of my grandparents are deceased, and I survived without them. Too bad my brother found out about my abuse later on when I was already married, and it's funny how I ended up marrying someone with the same name as him. Things could have been a lot different throughout our childhood had we spent more time together. Oh well, we can't rewind time, and I know that there are reasons as to why my sister and I were not raised with him. I look at our lives now, and I am so glad things happened as they did. I am extremely grateful for the relationship that we have built through out the past few years. I believe that being apart from each other for so many years made both our hearts grow fond of each other.

We only look towards the future now, and always wish each other the best.

my brother John and I~ circa, 1997

So here's to my brother celebrating 45 years of living. I hope it was a good one. Love you bro!