He got off the plane and walked to my car. In an instant I recognized him. He's older and wiser and probably a foot taller than me, but in my minds eye he's still a little boy. I fought the urge to go into "big sister" mode. I wanted to hug him, cater to him, protect him, and poke him. I held back and tried to not bombard him with questions and plans for the weekend.
As we approached each other, there was an awkward pause. Do I hug him? Shake his hand? I wound up saying, "Hey. Glad you could make it," and I got into the car.
The ride back to the house was comfortable and the conversation was easy. His laugh is still the same as I have always remembered. His speech pattern is still the same. It made me loosen up a bit.
Sitting in the back seat, I realized that I've missed him. I've missed him terribly, yet I hardly know him anymore. Does he remember things when we were kids? We don't really talk about our childhood. I wonder what he remembers?
My mother always said I was a babbling brook. She said his still waters run deep. Two completely different personalities. I was always the loud mouth that got into trouble, he was quiet and managed to not get into trouble. I'm sure he did stupid things like me, as teens do, but he managed to learn from my mistakes and skirt the law (mom).
He leaves in a few days and I hate that. We've had time to re-connect. I've worked hard to not plow over conversations, run the show, or dig deep. I think it's been a good visit.
In the long run, I hope that his visit is the first of many to come. I miss his quiet presence in my life. I don't want him to just be a shadow in my life, but actually three dimensional. I want to get to know him again.
2 comments:
WOW !!! How wonderful !!! Some time with Chuckles. I bet you had a great time. I do remember he was sooo quiet. Give his hair a tossle and say "hi" from me. I wonder if he remembers me? LOL!
When we were all together I realized how much I miss him too. I may see him several times a year, but it was different having him here with all of us. We all belong together. I hope he will do it again much sooner than before. I think the visit was good for all of us - him too. He needs to stay connected. How could he possibly forget 80's beach girl????? Bizzie L
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