What counts is the time he carved out of his life for me. From day one.
I have been told, when I left the hospital I was only 3.lbs and 9 ounces.
I was too tiny to hold, but Michael sat next to me in carrier and made sure I was safe.
There was some yarn about me getting carried home in a shoebox by him but my mom just confirmed that was just not true.
My mom also said my brother repeatedly offered to share his room with me, what 10 year old boy does that?
Apparently he introduced me too condiments while my parents where closing on the house that I was to grow up in. He said I like mustard, I still do. But not hot sauce, I still don't. That same day he laid me out in the bare living room and apparently I just rolled around and around.. when I would get stuck in the corners and scream, he would come and get me out.
None of this compares though to Christmas Eve.
You go to sleep, Santa comes and they wake you up. My brother always carried me down the stairs.. I would say well into my teens.. And we would all open up our presents and then my brother and I would get to play with all my presents, munching cookies looking at each other and laughing (that mom never knew we had found out she used to wrap them up as a presents.We would find and unwrap them, take a few from each level then re-wrap the cookies). One Christmas night he was working and buying presents last minute and wrapped my new Walkman in tin foil. Which I thought was the coolest thing ever because it was silver and I loved silver. Whatever he did for me was cool.
All the iconic moments of childhood movies, Star Trek, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, the animated/live action Lord of the Rings..
We saw them all together.
Later on
My brother rescued a Bull Mastiff he named Max and I named Woof-ie. He ate half of the chocolate cake my mom made, with tweezers we picked out all the dog hair stuck on the cake, and with a hot knife we smoothed out the frosting and took the blame for eating most of the cake, she never new until we told her years later.
For my 15th birthday we went to NYC and went to a now defunct Tower Records and El Coyote ( a very hip Mexican restaurant in The Village). Two, very hot, long haired guys saw me looking at a Vicious Rumors LP and came over to talk. My brother casually walked up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders and said "guys I am sorry to say, she is just 15 and I am her big brother". Ohhh MIKE-IE!!!
We also got stuck that night in the tunnel for 2 hours. It was his first new car totally stripped down, we had no music but we did not care, we had David's cookies and each other.
He always listened, once he got me an Irish coin necklace that just had the rabbit carved out. I had just seen Watership Down and was all obsessed with it. I still have that necklace.
I have most things he gave me, accept the diamond earrings... errr sorry about that one Mike-ie..
The best nights though where when we would drive around in his car and just play the radio loud and talk. There was nothing we could not talk about. And he told me the important things in life, "always hold your drink","if someone hits on you you are not interested in you say I am sorry you are very beautiful/handsome but I do not swing that way" & "NEVER talk to mommie after you come home from a Pink Floyd concert"...
He was there for my first heart brake, no one else knew about him, he was too old, I would still be grounded, but Michael met him and he understood.
When he got his first big promotion, he called my shrink about whether or not I could handle him moving out, my shrink said to him " I finally get a direct line to Jesus Christ"
He was there when my parents needed a sit down about me needing to go on to medication or I was going to die.
He was there when I thought they left a needle in my spine.
He was there when our Nanny died and I lost my favorite Not-Him Human.
He was there when I said goodbye to NJ.
My brother is also 50% responsible for the DNA of my 2 nieces and one nephew.
They are reasons for living beyond my dogs. They are magical and wonderful and some of the deepest love I have ever felt.
He has listened to me cry about me not having my own.
My brother has my back even when we fight and is probably the only human I trust 100%.
My brother is the person I fear most losing.
My brother was the first person to make me laugh.
I like to think now, I have taught him a few things, "you need an intellectual equal as a partner" and "if you let your child dye her hair purple at 16 or 17 she may not run off too England and do it at 25"
But I look forward to us as we get older.
We seem to get better.
Thank you Mike-ie, I love you most.
