Something a little different
Like a lot of siblings, my brother and I fought all the time when we were kids. It was mostly me egging him on in the shadows and him retaliating. He was pretty vocal about his feelings as a child. Neighbors would regularly tell my parents that my 5 year old brother was calling me an "asshole".
His mouth got him in trouble on more than one occasion. He was smarter than most other little kids, so the ones who couldn't fight him intellectually would have to resort to violence. Even though we fought against each other all the time, I still defended him against the world.
One day, after waging war against my brother, our mother sat us down to have a little chat. Being a caring mom, she hated us fighting so much and wanted us to get along. She talked about how important family was. If I remember correctly, this was also the time I realized my parents wouldn't be around forever.
She essentially pounded into my head that, someday in the future, my brother and I will only have each other. That lesson rooted itself deep into my brain. I tend to put most things out of my head, but I've never forgotten that lesson. I believe my brother ended up learning the same thing that day.
I made it a goal of mine to always be there for my brother. When he was down on his luck, I spotted him food and shelter. I had absolutely no problem with providing him the things he needed. Even if it meant I had to go without.
Over the years I've never really gotten used to not seeing my brother as often as I wanted. Sometimes it'd be me leaving for school or moving to a new city for work. More recently it's been him moving away or taking care of his own business.
A few years ago he joined the United States Army.
During the first year I think we talked maybe once in six months. It was really hard on me and especially our mother. Even though he was state-side, it seemed like he was in another world. He was eventually stationed close to where I was living at the time. We decided it'd be fun to catch up on lost time and we ended up living together for about 6 months or so.
He was still serving during that time, but I think we got closer than ever.
I've recently realized that our mom was only half right about my brother and I only having each other. The other half of that equation is that we'd eventually have our own families to love.
On the 28th of this month, my brother's daughter will be 10 months old. Aside from having darker skin than him and having my hair, she's a spitting image of him. I also recently found out that I'm going to be a dad at the end of this summer. Both of us now have our own families to look after.
This morning, Monday the 24th of January, my brother and I hugged and said our goodbyes. He's been ordered to Afghanistan. We knew for awhile that he'd be going this year but it's still a shock. He's currently in operational lockdown before he flies out across the country for preparations.
It isn't just dumb kids fighting for this country. It's fathers and mothers as well. My brother knows what he's doing and he isn't just another soldier. Not only is he more political and better informed than me, he's an expert marksman with all his weapons.
You can fight for your country and support your soldiers without supporting everything your government does.
I'll do my best to help where I'm needed. I'll see you soon, little brother. Check your corners!
