I don't have the words yet to process verbally what I want to say about my losing my brother, Chuck. But I know I want to recognize this day for the celebration that it is. Today is his birthday. So today I choose to celebrate. Today is a celebration of a brother who used to tease me mercilessly.
A celebration of a brother who used to chase me across campus with an axe. (I don't
think he was really going to use it.)
A celebration of a brother who was charged one afternoon with the task of babysitting me and instead of bossing me around or ignoring me, he sat at the kitchen table with me and ate a whole package of mac and cheese and an entire angel food cake mom had made for some other purpose. (We both got in trouble for that!)
A celebration of a brother who let me climb in his bed one night when I was about 5 years old and too scared to sleep and told me not to cry because it made me look like a bunny rabbit. (I think of that almost every time I cry--which has been a little more often these days.)
Yes, today, I will celebrate my brother. I will celebrate because of the gift he was to me--and to everyone who knew him. He was a rare, sparkling gem of a human being. His sparkle made the room seem a little more alive, and lent an extra air of celebration to all our family gatherings. He was warm, funny, generous, and he lived his life with integrity. So today, I choose to celebrate his life for the gift it was. Happy Birthday, my sparkly brother. I will miss you for the rest of my life.
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