My Favorite Brother

My younger brother, Dennis is my only brother but he would have been my favorite if I had a hundred of them. Because of the joy of our relationship, I wanted the same thing for my children. It worked out perfectly. My son is three years younger than my daughter and their closeness is very similar to what my brother and I share. My husband is 4 years younger than his only sister. We find a lot of humor in that her name is Kay also.

My brother and I do not look alike. We are very different in temperament as well. I tend to be the Leo that I am. He is gentle, kind and always forgiving. He will go the extra mile for anybody who needs his help. I only have to hint, and he will come to my aid.

But life has not been entirely kind to him. His marriage was strained after many years of having to work two jobs and helping to raise three sons, his eldest being born blind with retnoblastoma. They divorced but he and his wife have since remarried and it’s looking happy again as they both enjoy the challenge of fishing although there’s not a lot of fishes in Hawaiian waters these days.

He’s spent all the years that we’ve been gone in Illinois taking care of our parents. Whenever they’ve needed him, he has taken time off from work to meet their needs. I think he’s looking forward to us returning so that he can have more free time with his family.

Although Fate gave him the short end of the stick on some things, he did get the good teeth, the big brains, the artistic talent, the photographic talent, the strength, the good sense of direction, the better carpentry and wood working skills, better cooking skills, better writing skills and much more, so I think he’s been quite lucky as well. Hmmm… he’s also got a loving sister and I think I’m his favorite sister.