Making Memories Monday: Remembering a Brother, My Brother
Memory is a funny thing:
It’s 2:00 am. I am awakened by a ringing. Coming out of the fog of sleep, I realize it’s the phone. I double-check the time, and sigh. It has to be my brother, and it has to mean another crisis…. he doesn’t call any other time. I answer and hear his voice. I sneak out of the bedroom so as not to wake Patrick, or the little boy who has assuredly climbed into our bed by now, and I settle in for a long conversation. I’m ready to listen, to reassure, to advise, and to rebuke. It is May 6, 2009. Two days later, instead of a late night phone call, I receive an early morning one: he is gone…
A few months later, my phone rings too late; a wrong number… I cry. In those late-night ring-tones comes the realization of how much I miss those long, frustrating, late-night calls… and how much I miss my brother!
In the year since James’ death, I have found myself remembering happier times we spent together. Although the memories sometimes bring tears, more often than not, they end with a smile… because no matter who my brother was, what he did, or what differences stood between us, he was my brother, the boy I played dress up with, built snow forts with, and watched grow from boy into man… and I loved him!
Memory is a funny thing. In times of sorrow, it is the memory of happier times that gets us through, that bring the smiles back… even if, sometimes, those smiles are through tears.
Do you have a favorite memory of someone you’ve loved and lost? A memory that makes you smile, even through your grief? Link up to share this or one of your other special memories for Making Memories Monday this week:
Remember:
- Please leave a link back to Adventures in McQuill-land on your Making Memories Monday post!
- Add your name to MckLinky at Adventures in McQuill-land and enter a 2-3 word subject to give blog hoppers an idea of what we’ll find at your post. Like this: Jennifer @ McQuill-land (playing dress-up).
- AND… Please be sure to link to your individual Making Memories Monday post, not your home page. This makes it easier for blog hoppers to find your shared memory!