My brother and his family came to our house on Christmas Eve. \u00a0I adore his children, and love spending time with him and his wife. \u00a0They are the family I have left. \u00a0With my mother mentally handicapped, and the rest of my family estranged from each other, my younger brother and I are each other\u2019s family. <\/p>\n
There was a time, when I was very young, when my family was a large and happy collection of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. \u00a0Somehow, over the years, it has dwindled down to just us and the occasional visits from one of our aunts. \u00a0I miss the idea of them, but the memories of the actual people have faded in my mind. <\/p>\n
Through all of the turmoil of mental illness, disappearing relatives, and general upheaval, my brother and I have leaned on each other. \u00a0We have become each other\u2019s confidante, adviser, and friend. \u00a0There is an ease in spending time with him that I don\u2019t have with many other people. \u00a0In him, I have one of the few people whose history I know, who knows mine as well, and we accept and love each other in spite of that.<\/p>\n
As I sat watching him snuggle with my newest niece on Monday, I couldn\u2019t help but think that this is what I want for my own children. \u00a0Not the no one else part, but the part where they have a relationship with their siblings which is more than just growing up in the same house with the same crazy parents.\u00a0 I want them to have a deep and genuine friendship with each other.\u00a0 I want them to know that their brothers and sisters are the unshakable support and unwavering loyalty which I have been fortunate to know.<\/p>\n
That is my Christmas wish for my children, my fervent prayer.\u00a0 I want for them to love each other, fight for each other, and defend each other.\u00a0 I want them to have the kind of relationship that if someone asks \u201cDo you get along with your brother?\u201d\u00a0 That they can answer as I do, \u201cI adore him.\u201d, and that, like me, they will truly mean it.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My brother and his family came to our house on Christmas Eve. \u00a0I adore his children, and love spending time with him and his wife. \u00a0They are the family I have left. \u00a0With my mother mentally handicapped, and the rest of my family estranged from each other, my younger brother and I are each other\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1979,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n