Wednesday, March 17, 2010

20 Years Ago Today...


... My baby brother went on to be with our Heavenly Father. He was 19 years old. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him. One day, I will see him and his beautiful smile again. One day, I will hear his voice and laughter again. One day, I will feel his warm embrace, hug and kiss him again. I am looking forward to that One Day.

When I think of him, I think of snap shot moments. Not sure why. In the movies, you see flashback in action, not in snap shot moments. I wish I could think of him that way. Sometimes I do, but most of the time it's just fragments of moments. :(

In past posts, I've shared different things about him. I think today I will share 20 things I remember about him. They'll be in random order. Mainly because that's the way my brain works. One thought leads to another. So I'll just go with my brain flow. :) Sorry about that.

* When he was born, children weren't allowed up in the hospital room, unless they were patients. So the very first time my sister and I got to see him, was from my mom's hospital bedroom window. Even though we could hardly see him. We thought he was the most beautiful, cutest baby EVER!

* The home we mostly grew up in had granite floor. So he was allowed to ride his little Red Ryder tricycle around our home. He use to pretend he was a policeman. He had a little notebook and a pen. Even though he didn't know how to write (he was only 3 or 4 yrs old), he would give us tickets for "infractions". LOL! The infractions were anything from, not allowing him to come into our bedroom to not doing what he wanted us to do. LOL! Is that cute or what?! LOL!

* My dad use to keep his motorcycle inside our home, but in the florida room. I guess now, they would call that the sunroom. Well, no one was allowed to sit on the bike unless my dad was there. We all loved my dad's motorcycle. But my brother adored it. We would always want to sit on it. So against my dad's wishes, I would occasionally carry him and sit him on the motorcycle. I would also put the helmet on. He looked soooooo cute! Looking back, I realize how dangerous that really was. His guardian angel was always kept busy!

* One time I was really upset with my sister. I can't remember why, but I was. So I told my brother to pee on her. He was little (2 yrs old). Well, he peed on her. He laughed and I laughed. My sister cried and screamed. Boy did I get in trouble! And rightly so. That was wrong on so many levels.

* To my sister and I, he was our baby doll. We would pick his outfits and dress him up. One day we decided to put some of our mom's make up on him. We couldn't do anything with his hair cause my mom always kept his hair short. Needless to say, we got into trouble for that one too. My mom thought he looked cute, but my dad did not like it! You know how Cuban Machos are. LOL! I LOVE MY DAD!

* During the summer time, he use to work as a lifeguard at a local pool. He once had to dive in and rescue a little girl that was drowning. He said that was the most frightening and awesome thing ever. Frightening because the little girl's life was in his hands. Awesome because he helped someone in distress. He LOVED helping others.

* He ALWAYS LOVED the ladies. Even when he was a little boy. When he was little, he use to chase the girls around the playground and try to kiss them. I'm sure he would get in trouble today if he did that. But I must add, that he wasn't the only one that did the chasing. I remember him being chased quite often.

* When he would come to visit us at our Castello, we would have movie marathon nights. Sometimes it was James Bond marathons. Other times it would be Star Wars marathons. Yet other times it would be Clint Eastwood night. Yes, we LOVE action movies.

* Once when we were watching a movie, he was laying on the floor. While I was laying on the couch. My leg was dangling over the couch. He happen to touch it and said, "Ummm, Lady G, don't you think it's about time you shaved?!" LOL! Yep, he wasn't one to hold things back. I LOVED his sense of humor.

* When he was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, he decided one day to ride his motorcycle all the way back home... to Miami, Florida! At the time we lived in Orlando. So he made a pit stop at our home. Did I mention that his bike was a racing bike and not a cruising bike? Well now you know. It was not a comfy ride. For the return trip, he decided to fly back and have his bike shipped. LOL! Lesson learned at the tender age of 18. LOL!

* For my 15th birthday, my parents had a big celebration. For Latins, turning 15 is like turning 16 for Americans. That night, all eyes were on my brother. Why? Because he was a natural at dancing, among other things. He danced his little heart out! He stole the show and I didn't care. He was my brother and I LOVED him.

* When he was in elementary school he befriended three brothers who were new to this country. They were from Vietnam. My brother was their only friend. No one else wanted anything to do with them because they were different and ate different food. But my brother didn't care. They would often come to our house and play. I can still remember how they laughed and played, even though there was a language barrier.

* Sometimes when he and my sister would come to visit, we'd watch tv lying in my bed.

* When he started to grow hair under his arm pit, he didn't want to dry his arm pit after his showers. When we asked him why, he said he didn't want the hairs to fall off. Got to love the innocence of a child.

* His military buddies nicknamed him, The Outlaw. I once asked him why he was given that name. He told me, "You don't want to know." and he laughed. I never did find out. Guess I'll find out One Day when I see him again.

* He LOVED visiting us and spending time with our Fair Maidens. Which he always referred to as "his girls".

* I went into labor with Daughter of the King on February 13. When he found out, he kept telling me to hold her in. LOL! He wanted her to be born on February 14, Valentine's Day. He got to see pictures of her. But he never got to actually meet her or hold her. He passed away when she was 4 weeks old.

* On another visit, my brother, his girlfriend, my sister and I, decided to go to the mall. My Knight stayed home with our Fair Maidens. We left right as the mall was closing. He decided to drive. My sister told him to drive forward instead of backing out of the parking space. Well, turns out, there was one of those yellow (or white) concrete things that don't allow the car to go forward. But our front wheels did happen to make it over. The only problem is, the car got stuck. We couldn't drive forward or backward! Even though our dad knew everything about cars and how to fix them, my brother never learned anything about cars. Well, except makes and models. LOL! So we called... my Knight! He came to our rescue. But while we waited for him. We ended up have a "photo shoot". Boy did we have fun. Those pictures were always kept TOP SECRET! LOL! When he passed away, we put the pictures with him. To this day, my sister and I still laugh about that night.

* When we were younger, occasionally on the weekends, our family would get together with other family members and some old family friends. One of the families had a large backyard and a pool. On one of our gatherings, my brother was so excited that he ran and jumped in the pool. But the water was so cold, that it shocked him and he started to drown. My uncle had seen what happened and ran to rescue him. He became an expert swimmer after that.

* I was one week shy of turning 19 when I got married. My brother was 7 years younger than me. So he was 12 when I got married. My Knight was in the Army. So when we got married not only was I moving from home. I was moving to another state. As my Knight and I were getting in our car, my brother came running to me... crying. "I don't want you to go. Take me with you". He stood there as we drove off. He never saw my tears. I can still see him... standing there, crying...

I can honestly say I have no regrets about how I treated my brother when he was here with us. I KNOW that he knew that he was loved and cherished. I only wish that others would make the most of their time, with the ones they love. No one knows how much time we have left. Don't take it for granted...

For now, I am waiting for One Day.

faithfully His...
Lady G~

No comments: