The other day, I saw a new show. Miracle Workers, I think it was. One of the people to receive a miracle was a man who'd lost his sight at 11. With a new procedure and some donated stem cells from a relative, they were able to restore his sight. The show touched me on two levels...
One, I'm visually impaired. I've been this way since birth, and as such haven't felt too handicapped. It was the norm for me. There are no procedures for me, and I'm okay with that. Again, it is the norm for me. But remembering the frustrations of growing up and learning to deal, I can completely understand the joy that would come with granting someone sight. It made me happy to see this man was now able to really see his family, some of which for the first time in his life.
Two, the blood relative was his sister. So much love for her brother that she risked her own eye sight to help him now. She was 15 years old when he'd lost his sight, and along with her family it had pained her so much to see him struggling with it then. The sibling love I saw between them reminded me of my brother and I. Not that he or I have donated body parts for each other, but if he needed it... I know, like Todd's sister, I'd have no hesitations in giving my brother whatever he needed.
Throughout the years, Josh and I were siblings, friends, and sometimes rivals. I never once doubted his love for me, nor wavered in my love for him. Moving often as kids, we were often our sole playmates. And even with distance that comes with growing up, I still like to think he and I could still talk about anything like we used to all the time. We spent hours and hours discussing many things or creating whole new worlds in our childhood and some teenhood game playing.
Growing up, I think we each felt each other's pains. Well at least some of the time we did. Painful punishments, illnesses, asthma attacks, and each other's frustrations were sometimes felt by both. It pained me to see him struggling to breathe and he was always first to help when I was sick.
I'll always think of those memories I have of our growing up together. Childhood games, shared pains, long night talks, and even our fighting moments. Cuz even the fighting never lasted long for us. I think at most we stayed mad at each other for mere hours if not less than an hour.
So Josh, if you're reading this. I love you, baby brother. You've always made me happy throughout our years together. I may have looked at you funny as a baby, but I am ever glad to have you as my sibling. You continue to make me proud with your accomplishments and seeing the way you're growing into a man. It saddens me that we no longer are but a room away, but you're always in my thoughts. My friend and my brother, I love you and always will.
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