Brotherly Love

Have you ever noticed that you can be floating along through life without a care in the world, when all of a sudden God bestows upon you and delivers an almighty whack from out of nowhere? I often question what on earth I must have done in a past life to merit some of the shortcomings I have received in this one. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything I have and know that I am truly blessed when it comes to my family and friends.

I can somewhat relate to the old adage 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. My family has been through some major hardship, losing my brother at the tender age of 23 (for the purpose of this post we shall call him brother number two). You may gasp and think how terrible, however if it weren't for him my family wouldn't be as close as they are today. Sometimes it takes such a life changing event for you to wake up and realise what you've got. I often take a moment to just stare at my nieces or nephew and be thankful for them - for how precious they are and how they make my day so much brighter (see picture above for instant smile material).

It broke my heart to know that brother number two had passed when we had just started to become friends (in place of fist-fighting siblings). I received a phone call from brother number one last night, telling me how great he thought my blog was. Rewind six or seven years ago and I'd be pressed to tell you if he was even in the country! We now talk on a regular basis and are closer than we've ever been before. It's taken us a while to get to this stage, but I love having him around and just being able to talk about 'stuff'. Everybody needs someone like that in their life.

God can deal you some extraordinary cards occasionally, leaving you flabbergasted without knowing which way to turn. My advice is to pick yourself up, learn from it and move on. Life will go on with or without you, so you may as well enjoy it! I know it's easier said than done, but try to see things from a different perspective - appreciate the people you love, stop to smell the flowers, call your nan or pop (or your sibling), give your dog a hug, sing in the shower, tell your partner you love them and never, ever take anyone for granted. Just try it - the strength and satisfaction you'll gain from doing so is nothing short of a godsend. ;-)

AVD
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