A Week With My Brother

I spent a lot of time with my brother Brad this past week. He hitched a ride up to Washington with me and Josh on Sunday and flew out from Seattle-Tacoma airport yesterday to go to Texas. We didn't really do anything particularly fun, exciting, or special while he was here but it was still so great just to be with him. Doing nothing. 

I had to babysit a few days and had a photoshoot on Wednesday and he tagged along. Other then that, we mostly just... chilled. In silence. I've never been a big talker, I don't do small talk very well and have always been much more comfortable as a listener. Brad is even less of a talker then me, if that's even possible. He makes me seem like a Chatty Cathy, which I am soooo not. So the amount of conversation between the two of us was minimal at best. But it was still the best. Because that's one of the things that I love that about my brother, he doesn't talk unnecessarily. [It's also one of the things that drives me crazy about him, if you want to know something you have to ask him very specific questions!] So a lot of this past week was spent in a companionable silence, just me and my brother.

And it was EXACTLY what I needed. To not have to fill the spaces with frivolous words. To not have to give more then I felt like giving. To be content in the quiet. To be calmed in the emptiness that held so much love and comfort. To be okay with simply being present. To not have to explain anything more then necessary. To know exactly what that means. To be, brother and sister, just being there for each other without either of us having to ask. That's how it is with me and Brad, how it's always been. And I am thankful.