Growing up, I was very blessed to have my brother Edward at my side. We had our fair share fighting because he was on MY side of the seat or getting made when his G.I. Joe would kidnap my Barbie or he'd use a red Sharpie on my white cat Tiffany, but over all, he was a really great brother. Sure, sure, he'd do fake karate kicks to my head every now and again, but the foot never connected with the skull. He was two years my junior and had a very sweet spirit, despite using my cat as a football. As my only sibling, and since we usually usually lived out in the country, we were each other's primary playmates and spent many a fun hour playing school (I was always the teacher), riding bikes, getting muddy at Belle Fountain Beach, and setting up huge "Little People" towns.On long trips to places such as California and Chicago, we always had a traveling buddy to enjoy the ride with...when we didn't cross that invisible line separating our halves of the seat, that is.
And though his friends were all too young to be potential crushes or boyfriends for me, they were all still fun enough to play Spades or Nintendo with.
We're all grown up now with our own spouses and kids. I'm a 44 year old stay-at-home-mom and, hard as it is to believe, my baby brother is a 42 year old doctor. We haven't gotten muddy in the Mississippi Coast waters in 30 years nor have we played each other in PacMan for over 20 years, but I still love him just as much. And when we do have those precious times together over the holidays or during a quick trip to the Coast, he is still one of the nicest people you can find to just hang out with.
My brother.
The guy that no one hates.
The doctor whose patients know that to him they are a person, not just a number.
The dad who acts goofy with his kids and makes them pancakes.
The husband who loves his wife and listens to her heart.
The son who is respectful and gentle with his parents.
The one who is still friends with the same friends for decades.
The only sibling that I ever had but despite being a boy, was a huge blessing to grow up with.
This Thanksgiving season, I give thanks to God for my brother, Edward Joseph Harvey, Jr.
3 comments:
What a wonderful tribute Elysa!
Awww shucks...thanks Sis!
Edward
BTW Tell David I really like his "look" with his longer hair. He's turning out to be handsome young man. I'm sure he'd prefer to hear that from a pretty classmate rather than a middle aged uncle...but I'm guessing affirmation at his age is always welcome :)
Edward:
I think affirmation at ANY age is welcome! ;D
But yes, I will tell him.
Looking forward to seeing y'all soon.
Oh, and thanks, Stephanie. :)
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