Thursday, September 20, 2012

So Many Miles

My brother is moving across the country.  He's got a wonderful new job opportunity that's exciting for him, but it means that he, my sister-in-law, and twin nieces are going to live about as far away from here as you can get and still be in the continental United States.  So my head and heart are getting a bit of a workout these days.

We weren't alone as siblings for long before our sister came along, but I remember being a little kid when this new, tiny being was introduced to my world.  That was a daunting experience for someone who'd had the undivided attention of her parents (and one set of grandparents) for 5 years.  I'm sure I didn't adjust all that well, and my folks are probably emphatically nodding their heads right now.  But he was cute and sweet and didn't steal my toys since he couldn't move, and I called him Buddly or Brothey or any number of nicknames I conjured up (I was 5, so that number was probably 2).

My brother is wicked smart, especially when it comes to computers.  The guy can do just about anything with them.  He's laid back and doesn't often get ruffled, at least outwardly.  He is an amazing dad, especially considering he didn't have a whole lot of baby experience before being thrown headlong into the role of Father of Twins.  He drives what I would call a muscle car, a fact that makes me giggle because I so would never have put that car and that person together, ever.  But even in a family, you learn new things about each other every day.

I'm not going to say I'm happy about this move, because that wouldn't be true.  I am sad, for myself.  I'd love to keep all of my family as close as possible forever. Selfishly, I want them to stay. I want to watch his girls and my girl, so close in age, grow up as the virtual triplets that they are. But I know that in this instance, I can't control everything (dammit!). So I'll change my approach.  I want him to succeed so fantastically that every employer in his field tries to woo him and he has a dream career that will lead him where he wants to go and will put his family where they need to be.  And I hope all that brings them back here, or at least nearby, as soon as possible. 

I will be sending lots and lots of prayers and good thoughts as they go off to blaze a new trail (something that terrifies me and I don't even want to think about doing).  I am learning to Skype or Facetime or whatever we can get our respective devices to manage.  And I'm obsessively keeping an eye on airfare prices.  We're going to make the distance shrink, I promise, because no matter what, we are family and that stands, period.

Good luck, Buddly.  I love you more than I can say.

2 comments:

  1. All my family lives far away and it's sad. But it is good for each of us individually and that outweighs what we miss.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think out of everything, not having the twins and Sabrina grow up so close together is going to be the hardest. But I keep in mind that my cousin (6 months younger)and I grew up being bestest of friends and we only got to see each other a couple times a year. I got skype working on my computer too... so we'll get it all going!

    ReplyDelete