Colonial Fleets - A sibling's bond

I wanted to share something with everyone about how we share a certain bond with our brothers and sisters. I recently saw this with my baby brother and my relationship thought I would share it with you.

For most of my young life everyone assumed that I would be the baby of the family. That was not to be. In May 1986 my life changed. At the age of 10, I watched my family welcome another life in the circle. fate laughed and gave me a baby brother. I wasn't really happy but I accepted it. I would pick him up from the babysitter's after school and take care of him till my dad got home as both my parents worked at the time and a bond began to form between us. As the years went by, the bond I had felt with him when we were younger began to feel the strain of the age difference we had. I tried to give him advice to help him along the way, sometimes he listened, sometimes he did not. It continued like that till I left home and married. We were still close but not as close as we had once been. He even honored the bond we shared by being in my wedding.

There were many times I longed for the days when we were very close but that was never coming back. So when he decided on joining the military earlier this year I was very worried as an older sister would be having married a man who was military also. The last time I saw him I held back tears as I said goodbye to him on the 4th of July as he shipped out to basic a few days later. I prayed that he would make it and sent him letters and cards of support as there were times when he was feeling down. I found that the bond that I felt missing long ago was coming back. We received a letter that said he may go to Iraq after his training was done. I was inconsolable over it. I felt like my heart had been ripped out and stomped on fearing for my baby brother. I did not want to see him come home the way some people were coming back. I wrote him and told him that I was worried for him and that I would try to be strong but it wasn't so easy to do so.

So about a month ago we got a letter from him that it looked very good for him to be graduating from basic training. I was thrilled for my brother and plans were made to go.

Thursday morning as the families gathered in the hall where the ceremony was being held I was more nervous and emotional than my mom and dad. I even scanned the crowd of graduates in the distance just hoping for one glimpse of him. When they filed in one by one and announced who they were I was the one who clapped the loudest for him as I wanted him to know I was there and he had made his sister proud of him and that I always would be. I cried and snapped pictures like crazy. When they were finally able to meet up with the families I grabbed my brother and held on tight as we both cried together and I told him that even though he was a soldier now, he was always going to be my baby brother. We spent the day as a family and when it came time to take him back to barracks so that he could pack up to leave to got to his next step in training I cried as he walked away and joined his friends there. I felt as if I was leaving a part of me with him. I cried all the way back to our hotel and yesterday morning as I began the long journey home.

So remember, even if you and your sibling have a fight or don't talk as much as you would like, you have a special bond that can never be broken. I know my bond with my baby brother can never be bought or broken by someone else.