All in Relationships
I’m told today is siblings day. I suspect my brother, Jeremy, made this “holiday” up just to mess with me, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and play along. I’ll start by saying I am blessed to have a brother who is generous, hard-working, and fun who has taken care of me for my entire life.
Every single person you know or encounter—on the road, on the internet, on the sidewalk—is under copious amounts of stress.
I’m an extreme extrovert. I live by the ‘strangers are just friends I haven’t met yet’ mindset. So when my boys’ school announced a caravan driving through the neighborhoods just to wave and say hi, I was just as excited to see the teachers and staff as they were.
My little guy turned 10 today. I’m not going to say the time flew by because in all actuality parenting is hard. Occasionally I wake up and suddenly realize, “oh shit, I have two sons,” while wondering why anybody left me responsible for innocent children. But in all reality, I’ve earned my parenting stripes over the last decade in part because Harry keeps me on my toes.
Today is my brother’s birthday. If you don’t know Jeremy, I’m sorry. He’s one of those people everybody loves. I’m sure many of you think your siblings are wonderful. You’re probably right, at least about some of them, but I insist that my brother is the coolest.
I spent the evening at Sherlock’s Escape Room with some of my St. Mary friends. I got to know these women through a church retreat that then led to a year long exploration of faith and Christian community. The experience was a big commitment, but definitely worth the time and effort. I’m not sure I grew my faith as much as I wanted, but the connection I made with the group is undeniable.
I recently learned that my maternal great-grandmothers attended game four of the 1961 World Series together. Grandma Marguerite Heitker and Grandma Frieda Wolfzhorn shared German heritage, but that was about then end of their similarities. Learning they went to a baseball game together, much less a World Series game, is beyond intriguing.
Fall break means a week in Ft. Lauderdale with Aunt Theresa and Uncle Kenny. It also means Two for Twosday lobsters at Kelly’s Landing where the special is two 1 lb lobsters for $25. So last night we made our annual pilgrimage to the Boston of Ft. Lauderdale and indulged in lobster, baked beans, corn on the cob, cole slaw, baked potatoes and bread pudding. If your mouth isn’t watering just thinking about this meal, what’s wrong with you?
While I certainly have disagreements or get annoyed with those around me, I tend to offer kindness and understanding. I assume that most people are doing their best and I can’t possibly know all of the difficulties or challenges they are facing. I try not to judge because I know I do not have the full context of any other person’s situation, even those closest to me.
As we finished up our coffee and prepared to part ways, Olga suggested I start a series where I regularly meet someone for coffee to discuss the challenges of midlife and then blog about the experience. Now that was feedback that I enjoyed hearing! Realizing the impact a meet-up can have for both parties, this seems like a no-brainer.
Being married to me can’t be easy. I spread myself too thin, I’m always running into people I know and pausing to chat, it’s a guess from one day to the next if I’ll be high or low and I have lofty, often pie-in-the-sky goals. Frequently, those goals are more challenging to meet than I anticipate and I fall flat on my face.
For better or worse, my brain is wired like my father’s. Jerry Braun’s brain is a deficit when I’m expected to keep inappropriate thoughts to myself, refrain from laughing at funerals, politely listen to someone drone on about something I’m not interested in or suppress my urge to eat junk food.
