Siblings

My brother said something to me that made me tremendously happy. We were walking together towards the elevator, on our way downstairs to buy us some vegetables (we've been having way too much meat lately). He put his arm around me and told me that I was a good brother. That he had seen other people's brothers and that there was no comparison, that I'm a really good brother, the best he's ever seen. He said "Where would I be without you? You take care of me, you're a great brother. I love you, Brian."

I was totally taken aback, I asked him what he had done, if he had scratched my car, burnt something. But it was a random thing that he decided to share with me. It was totally AWESOME.

Thinking back, of the various milestones we've been through, it's be a growing relationship that started from me earnestly praying for a baby brother when I was 9, to the times I would pick him up from school, and then our sad separation when my family moved to the US. And then to have him come back to Toronto for University. To him it might seem like a curious roundabout way where God gave him a huge opportunity to study in the US only to end up back in Toronto again. Maybe it might seem like a curse to him, but to me it has been every little bit of a blessing.

Having the responsibility to look after another person may appear to be burden for some, but for me I've found that it has been challenging but extremely gratifying and fun. It has made me do things that I normally wouldn't bother with on my own, but because it's for someone else it becomes worthwhile.

I used to think that being independant was the ultimate way to learn how to deal with responsibilities, to learn to take care of yourself. But now I've learned that having a dependant you end up learning so much more because there's someone there to keep you accountable for your actions. It's kind of like the approach I take for driving -- I drive differently if I'm alone or if I'm giving someone a ride. I'm far more reckless driving on my own because the way I figure, if I screw up it's only me who suffers. There's more on the line when people you're responsible for are involved.

Apart from the responsibilities, having a friend, someone whom I love very much to be living with me. It's absolutely great. Having someone to come home to, to talk to, to eat with, to cook for/with, to enjoy games and tv shows with. It makes me so excited about the future, about what God has in store for me.