Waterworks (Sep 30th)

My little brother cried today. Those of you who know us know my little brother Jason as the handsome, six foot- four and a half inch, former football/ basketball all-star and current juvenile probation officer. Guys want to be his friend and girls want to be his girlfriend. I know people say that a lot but in this instance it couldn't be more true. So, it's not that just any little brother cried today... My little brother cried today. And when I hung up the phone and told my Mom and Dad that Jason had to compose himself and call back, my Dad cried too. Yes you read it right. My Dad- who kind of looks like a cross between Jim Brown and George Foreman and is every bit as intimidating and disarming as they are, respectively- cried today as well. Before today I only ever saw my Dad cry twice. The first was when I was 7 or 8 and I ran in the house to tell him that Jason just got hit by a car. He fell apart for a nano-second (which makes sense considering the fact that my older sister died at 4 years old by getting hit by a car in front of our house) and then he was out the door before I knew it. The second was the Summer of 2003 when my Mom's older brother passed. My Dad and my Mom have been together since 1959 so Uncle Jesse had been my Dad's big brother for several decades... also understandable. But I wasn't expecting tears over this. My Dad is Superman. My little brother, a Superman in training. Their tears don't make them any less Superheros to me though. They just showed a bit of what I already knew, that our families love and closeness is real and deep and something that I will never take for granted.