Brothers

Brothers(ˈbrəT͟Hər)

I’ve always felt very lucky to have a brother.

The only memory I have of before I had a brother was my parents taking me to my friends house while they went to the hospital to give birth. It turned out that it was a false alarm(əˈlärm), so I went back home from my friends house without a brother. Soon though, they took me there again, and this time it wasn’t a false alarm. So I can basically(ˈbāsik(ə)lē) say that I’ve had a brother for as long as I remember.

My brother, Will, is three years younger than me. We got along well growing up, although there is a video of me making him cry, I think because I took a car away from him. I also complained about his loud but beautiful singing around the house, which I regret(rəˈɡret), but almost all of my memories of growing up together are happy. We were lucky enough to go to the same schools, and we even had one year of overlap in university. I suppose there were some undercurrents(ˈəndərˌkərənt) of sibling(ˈsibliNG) rivalry(ˈrīvəlrē), but mostly we were proud of and loved each other.

I’ve lived abroad(əˈbrôd) now for nearly 20 years, so Will and I don’t see each other as much, but I’ll never have a friend like my brother, and I always know that we are there for each other. He is someone that I admire and love in so many ways.

I now have two boys of my own, and I am so happy to see them grow as brothers. When I see them together, I think of myself and my own little brother. I hope they will love and support each other throughout their lives, even when that love and support involves complaining about Mom and Dad.

My brother will is visiting(ˈvizidiNG) us in Beijing this weekend, and I’m reminded(rəˈmīnd) of how grateful(ˈgrātfəl) I am to have a brother.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/219/219-h/219-h.htm