 |
| Antoinette and Thomas Photo Credit: Walter C. Black, Sr |
How often do we write about our siblings? I have a five siblings: one sister and four brothers and I am the eldest of. Each of them holds a special place in my heart. In the meantime, I want to write about my brother Thomas. We were always close as children and shared a special bond as we grew up. In our youth we teased and pranked each other often. Honestly, I will have to take most of the responsibilities for the pranks played.
Our childhood was spent in a rural community where the houses were generally separated by a lot of space in between. A house stood across the road and down the road was where our cousin Bruce lived. Nighttime was so dark that even holding your hand right in front of your face would be impossible to see. Street lights didn't exist on that country stretch road. There were millions of stars illuminating the midnight skies.
He used the midnight darkness to get me back at me for teasing him during the day. Often he would scare me with stories of a creature named Bigfoot coming to get me at night. The thought of sleeping in my room all along made me tremble and frightened to the point where I cried all night. He thought that was so funny and he got me back.
As the day light broke, it was payback time. I laid there thinking about ways to get him back. During the day we had gotten a watermelon out of our Great Uncle Palmer 's garden and ate it. Thomas shallow one of the seeds and the game was on. I told him that he was going to have vines growing our of his ears, nose and mouth and he should drink plenty water because the water would flush out the seed. Instead it made his stomach full with water and it poked out a little. I told him he was going to look like a pregnant woman and he was terrified. I laughed so hard at the look in his face.
Well, beside all of that. It would be impossible to ask for a better brother. Thomas is one of the kindness, funny, carrying, and supportive brothers a girl could ask for. Having a brother like him is a dream come true. He is the kind of person that will do anything to help anyone. The values that he holds dear are family, loyalty, and respect.
He always giving me compliments and buy gifts for me. His favorite gift to give me are bottles of perfume. When mother was alive, he use to take her out to lunch and dinner, he took her shopping and spent quality time with her. He didn't mind taking her to her doctor appointments followed by a lunch date.
My list of wonderful and amazing things I can say about him is endless. He constantly tells me about his true admiration for me as his sister. It gives me strength and I know I can count on him. He also know that he can count on me. Our relationship is a true example of sibling love and respect. We can talk to each other and lean on each other. Our support for each other is priceless and that helps both of us face the challenges of life knowing that we have each other.
In the same way he love his children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings, and great nieces and nephews. We cherish every moment we spend together and value our relationship. Before the pandemic, my husband and I would go to his lovely home and spend the night watching movies, cooking, chatting and just having quality time together.
Often, after I spend the night, the next morning he is up preparing breakfast for me. I am so fortunate to be able to call him my brother, for I love him deeply. We realize that life is very short and we don't take a second for granted. After each phone call and that is daily, we never end the conversation without saying "I love you" and that comes straight from our hearts.
