Blast From The Crazy Past- My Brother...

Welcome to memories...my memories....welcome to a Blast from my Crazy Past!

I only have one sibling...

I was blessed to have have a baby brother come along right before my 2nd birthday. I have no memories of when we were tiny like the picture seen here. However, I have fond memories of loving my brother with everything in me.

We didn't always get along growing up. He was always
accusing me of being his mother. Looking back, I probably
"mothered" him too much. It's in my blood. My husband Peter says that I can't help but mother anything that comes along, that I was born with more mothering instinct than most women. And.....he's probably right. And maybe it started with my baby brother. I mean, look at how cute he is in this picture!

Some of my memories involve us sleeping out in a tent all summer long, talking about what we were going to do when we grew up.

As we got older, we got closer. When I turned 16, he decided that I was no longer the annoying older sister and rather someone that could take him places and get him out of the house. I will never forget the time we were driving along in my beat-up truck and he said, "Heidi, if I have to drive around with you, there has to be a decent stereo to listen to."
Since he didn't have his license yet and more money to spend than I had, he equipped my truck with a sound systm that pretty much shattered windows from a block away!

Another thing when we were teenagers was that he wouldn't tell me if I looked good in something, instead he would tell me if I didn't look good in something. For instance, I once got a new skirt and showed him how it looked. I remember exactly where we were in our old house. He was brushing his teeth in the bathroom with the door open. I walked out of my bedroom and he looked at me and said,"That skirt makes your hips look big." O-kay then....that skirt was given away. The crazy thing is, it probably did. It was when those "broomstick" skirts came out in the 90's. Yeah....not a pretty sight.

When we were teenagers, he became my "big" brother and defended me from some jerks. I remember one time at youth group, this boy Jason wouldn't leave me alone. My brother shoved him up against a wall and gave him what for!

My brother is a very talented piano player. I don't know how he does it....the notes flow from his fingers much like water flows into the ocean. He can spend years away from a piano and as soon as he sits down to play, it's like he never quit. I could quite honestly spend hours listening to him play. Especially when he plays the old hymns that I love so much...

I have enjoyed watching my brother raise his family of kiddos. He's a good dad and he would do anything for his children.

My brother has been through some rough stuff. Things I have not personally dealt with and wouldn't know how to deal with. We have had our moments over the years where we have had a chance to talk and be like those young kids in the tent planning their world.

One time last spring we were going through some tough things with our foster son that we had at the time. I will never forget my brother calling me and letting me know that he loved me and was praying for me. Those words meant more to me than all the words a million other people could have said to me...

One thing I absolutely treasure today is when my little brother gives me one of his bear hugs. Sometimes I miss when we were kids and would talk for hours about how we were going to change the world....we were two innocent kids....planning out our future with no ideas on where we would be 25 years later...

John....I love you more than words can say....you're my only brother....my only sibling...I don't know how long I will have in this world...whether the Lord calls me home before you or not...but I know one thing...I will always love you and the place you have held in my life....

Your mean bossy sister....
Heidi