During Christmas my brother’s “List of things that make me happy” (written when he was ten) put “my brother” fourth from last. Tonight he more than redeemed himself when he found a bunch of essays he’d written in high school, several of which were about “my brother”. My memories from age twelve to twenty are generally of me being brooding and antagonistic around my family, but Aaron apparently didn’t always see things that way. Lately I’ve come to realize how important family bonds are, and the Goob drives that point home every time I get to see him again.
Aaron and I decided to take New Faithful out for a trial run this afternoon, but after hitting only a few dozen balls we were ambushed by five little kids. It was great that they ran wild through the outfield collecting balls for us, but it’s a bit nerve-wracking when you have to watch out while pitching or swinging a bat to make sure that you don’t accidentally take out a seven-year-old. We escaped without killing any of them, and the evening was spent just hanging out with Aaron and Minor. As life is moving along I find that one of the things I miss more than anything else is the time spent laughing and reminiscing with friends, talking about whatever random memories occur to us. In high school and college friends would gather and stay up until all hours, but as people are getting married and starting families these occasions become more and more rare. Coming home now seems to be one of the few times when I can count on being able to get together with people without needing any plan or excuse and just enjoy the act of being together.