Thursday, May 8, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #2

In honor of my brother's birthday - I made my Thursday Thirteen list with him in mind.
1. My brother was born in Ashland, Oregon, on May 8, 1979.
2. It was a planned cesarean section and on the drive up to Ashland, we heard the song, "We Are A Family," by the Pointer Sisters. We were just past the Boos's house, right there on the corner by Scott and Julie's place. Robin, my sister, has the same memory.
3. When Brad was little, he used to call me Moe-sha. I would be the first person that he called when he woke up. It always felt like such an honor.
4. One time, when I was 14, I was sitting with Brad on my bed, listening to the radio and not paying enough attention. My bed was right under the window and he was bouncing. He pushed on the screen and bounced out the window, where he landed on the screen, supported above the ground by an assortment of big, sharp, lava rocks.
5. I got in some big trouble for not paying attention, daydreaming when I was supposed to be watching my little brother. (I was busy looking for split ends at the time). I still feel guilty about this.
6. When I was 18 and Brad was 5, I got him off to kindergarten every morning and every afternoon I picked him up and brought him back home.
7. I made us cheese and mustard sandwiches every day for lunch after school.
8. Brad used to have a little utensil set - a Snoopy spoon, knife, and fork. He carried the knife in his back pocket when he went out to play. He carried a Honeycomb cereal box that had a computer printed on it and pretended to spy on Robin and me with the little boy next door.
9. The knife made me nervous, so I took out an old 4H leather craft kit I had and finished up the little comb case that I found in it. I made slits on the case and threaded it on his belt, so he would have a safer way to carry his Snoopy knife.
10. I moved to Spokane, WA for a few years and I didn't get to see my family much. When I came home, Brad was so grown-up. I couldn't stop staring at his Big Boy teeth. When I left, he still had the baby teeth. It was such a visual reminder of everything that I missed while I was gone. I regretted all that lost time.
11. Brad is very smart. If I put something together wrong, he can look at it for seconds and say, oh yeah, well you've got that shelf there upside down.........
12. Brad is married and has a family now. His wife is named Shawna and his kids are Ashlee, Brad Jr, and Hayden.
13. Little Brad looks just like his daddy did when he was little. When he smiles at me, it's like I'm looking at my baby brother again. Sometimes that sweet smile gives me a lump in my throat and makes my eyes water a little.

7 comments:

Melanie said...

Beautiful tribute to your brother!

Homemom3 said...

Wow, that's so lovely and I loved reading your memories. Never had cheese and mustard.

Unknown said...

Wonderful tribute!

Askew To You said...

Thanks for the nice comments. My brother is a great guy.

Anonymous said...

What great memories. Thanks for sharing.

Mine is here: http://aliceaudrey.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/thursday-thirteen-26gross-things/

Denise said...

Wow! What a lucky brother! So loved and cared for by a very special sister! This is a wonderful tribute.

MotherBunker said...

Aw, I love this. What a nice thing to do. I especially love the details -- "We are family," and the Snoopy utensils. I bet you had fun writing this.