Sean.

[arontius]

.....Greetings All,

.....A set of rambling thoughts after seeing my brother Sean at the hospital earlier this week. I actually remembered to use an LJ-Cut to spare you all. :-)

..... …..It was an interesting week, with an emphasis on family. I went and saw my brother, Sean, at the hospital on Wednesday. He didn’t recognize me at first and I had a somewhat difficult time recognizing him as well. It has been a good five plus years since he and I last saw each other. But it didn’t take me long to notice the flaming red hair and that distinctive Rogers laugh. We started talking and it was like it was only a few days ago when we last saw each other.

…..I’ve always maintained that my network of friends were always my real family. And that is certainly true. They are the people with whom I spend most of my time. They are the ones who’ve helped me when needed and with whom I’ve shared all my best and worst times. But there is something in a blood relationship that is undeniable. Friends can come and go from your network, but even if you never see a relation again there is always that bond of relationship.

…..Sean and I were pretty typical brothers. We used to fight like mad over everything. We were into trouble constantly. But as I was thinking about it I realized that I was always looking out for Sean as well. I was remembering a time when we were both into Boy Scouts and were doing a 50-mile hike along the Washington coast. I was the Patrol Leader at the time and no matter how far I wanted to push for the day I was always making sure that I kept the pace to Sean’s level. I was always checking to make sure that he wasn’t getting too tired, that he had something to eat. Whenever we stopped to fill the water bottles and wait for the water tablets to take effect, I’d always make sure that Sean got the water first. It was a subconscious thing, but an indication of how important I thought family was. This is especially strange considering the fact that we hardly ever speak to each other and only become involved in each other’s lives when absolutely necessary.

…..Sean is a strong and very stubborn guy. He never did finish High School. He quit as a sophomore and joined a fishing / canning boat in Alaska. He’s done everything from landscaping to plumbing to you name it. Currently he works for a tree-trimming outfit in Poulsbo. He can’t afford a car at the moment so he bicycles from his place in Sunnyslope to his job in Poulsbo every day. Holy Cow!

…..I guess that he was headed home from the job and traveling across the Warren Ave. bridge when the car hit him from behind, traveling at almost 40 MPH. Sean doesn’t even remember being hit. One moment he was riding his bike and the next he was in a hospital bed at Harrison. He ended up with a few broken bones and a scraped up face. But was otherwise doing O.K.

…..We talked for an hour or so when I noticed he was starting to get pretty tired, so I made some excuse about having to go somewhere. We shook hands (he has the HUGEST hands of anyone I know, nearly crushed me) and I left my phone numbers with him and took off. I’m rather hoping that we find some way to stay in contact. You couldn’t find two people who are more different than Sean and myself. But I was given a reminder of what a good person Sean is and that now that I’m a little older I should get to know him again.



.....Hope everyone has a nice three-day weekend.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

Comments

Family

[hrollaug.livejournal.com]

While we may not always get along with our family, they are still are our family. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we shared a large part of our life with them and they are always going to be a part of our life.
Or way I dropped by to see my older sister after May Crown

[copper-oxide.livejournal.com]

"But there is something in a blood relationship that is undeniable. Friends can come and go from your network, but even if you never see a relation again there is always that bond of relationship."

Arontius, I agree with this so much.
My sister and I see eye-to-eye on almost nothing and so many things she says infuriates me, but I can't imagine not having her in my life.

[freewaydiva.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you had the opportunity to reconnect (and while it was a sucky catalyst, it kind of proves my theory that things have a funny way of working out for the best somehow). I'm also glad that he's mostly okay. Gravity is a harsh mistress.

My brother and I are separated by a year and a half, an entire continent and wildly divergent world views, but we seem to find a way to honor most of the differences, even if we (not so) secretly think the other is a complete nutjob. ;)

Oddly enough, I'm off to a family reunion next weekend (which will mean missing June Faire, alas). Should be fun.