And he said, "My brother is the only person that truly makes me smile."

I find it hard to imagine what my life would be like if I would of never had my brother and sisters. From all the missed childhood memories to the now constant emotional support that we provide for each other, what I would of missed out on is definitely unimaginable. Every single one of us has story after story to tell about all the crazy and fun adventures we had as children while interacting with our siblings. Hopefully for your benefit, if you did not have a brother or sister or more, then maybe you had other close by relatives or a best friend that was consistently with you throughout your childhood. These beautiful souls that have filled our buckets with love throughout our lives are more than just relationships, they are some of the most significant influences in the molding of the clay of our persona.

My mother was the oldest of nine brothers and sisters. In many ways she was almost like a mother to her youngest siblings because of the age difference. Even though my parents only had four children in comparison, my brother was born 12 years after me, the youngest until then. This also made my oldest sister 16 years older than my brother and pretty much like a mother to him too. Wow, that is so amazing to me! Even though our parents were always there for us, the relationship that developed between older siblings and younger ones was truly beautiful and rewarding. We all chipped in taking care for my younger brother and helping out in everything from diaper changing, bathing, and day to day caring and teaching. Eventually the infant turned into a young boy, but unfortunately our father passed away when my brother was just shy of being 7 years old. If you read my previous post with regard to my dad, you know how close I was to him and how impacting his death at the young age of only 44 was to all of us. However, I cannot imagine anyone missing him more than my brother. We all did our best in filling in, especially my oldest sister which remained close enough to take so much of the responsibilities and help caring for him with my mother. Yet I know deep in my heart, as all of us close to him also know that none of us were impacted more by his loss in a need for a male image than my brother was at the time.

Hollywood has tried to portray in many movies and TV shows the complex dynamics that are contained in human relationships. Romance is one of the strongest themes that has been mastered on the big screen, but inter-sibling relationships is also high on the list. The human desire to find resolution to the dramatic events that are familiar to all of us in personal relationships is somehow masterfully compressed into the typical 120 minutes of a screenplay. It is amazing how these short stories can contain so much of our own real life experiences. Their effectiveness at getting us sucked into their story is astonishing, to the extreme that we are so deeply touched that they either leave us feeling great about their outcome, or worse, fantasizing about finales that allow us to reconcile our own lives with their talented illusions. In TV series and soap operas the effect is more gradual which is apparently more effective in hooking the audience into wanting to watch more and more in hopes to be able to find resolution to the plot. I am particularly fond of the TV show Two and a Half Men, for it's witty yet amazingly realistic portrayal of male bonding between brothers and sons. It also helps that they cater to my appeal to cute ladies, but that is an entirely different post. The characters in this comedy drama show us that even though the various siblings have entirely different personalities, a strong inter-personal relationship is still formed between them.

At my home this variety of personalities is key to our coexistence. I have two sons that are just about opposite in the spectrum of personalities and behaviour. On one side the younger boy is entirely reliable and responsible to his age appropriate persona, and on the other side my older son is more of a wild card in behaviour and personality. They both are interestingly unique in their own way. I am amazed that even though they are so different, there is no lack of bonding between them. We cannot take a trip around the corner to the supermarket without them being totally engaged between themselves in conversation about a whole range of subjects from movies, TV shows, games, music, and people that they each know either independently or in common. I find it a bit hilarious that when at home they barely interact with each other because they have their own kingdoms to engage themselves with in their rooms, yet as soon as they are forced to be in a confined space together the communication is wide open and very entertaining. I love taking them out for dinner because of the vast amount of information that I obtain from their lives by simply listening in to their conversation.

I cannot pinpoint how long ago it was, but I am sure that it was at least seven or eight years ago when I heard my oldest son make a comment that stuck with me in my head. My youngest son has always liked to impersonate voices of different people and fictional characters. It was always very amusing to hear him talk with a regional accent at the early age of five. It was like his voice did not match his skinny little body, making us laugh at length when he shared this talent. One day in which my oldest son had been having a particularly tough day in elementary school we were on our way home when my youngest boy started doing some silly voice that just cracked us up in laughter. Out of the tender lips of my older son the comment flowed saying "My brother is the only person that truly makes me smile." What a wonderful compliment from such a young mind at the time. If you knew the boy you would understand that in those days, nothing could be closer to the truth than that statement. His personality and various emotional challenges had already taken grip of the outcome of most school days making them seem like grueling instead of typical. The fact that he could recognize the beauty of his younger brother's influence on his mood and emotional state was astonishing.

I am lucky. My relationship with my siblings is no less that the best. Just as my two sons, none of us are alike, but we have always found ways to compliment, support, and contribute to each others well being. Just as I am blessed by the beautiful gift of having a wonderful brother and two sisters, I hope that my sons are someday able to realize what an incredible gift they have by having each other. They say that love heals all wounds. I hope that between God's love, my love, the love from their mother, their brotherly love, and the love of so many of you that are reading, that it will be enough to heal all and any wounds that might be in my kids hearts. When you seriously think about it, that is a heck of a lot of love. Thank you.

Dad