Siblings: The Longest Relationships

Typically, we have our parents for the first two-thirds of our lives, our spouses and children for the second two-thirds. The sibling relationship is the longest. Barring unexpected tragedy, we have our brothers and sisters throughout our mortal journey. When you think of it that way, the relationship claims greater significance. I have only one sibling, my brother Tom. He lives in our native Portland, Oregon, where I have not lived since I left for college at 17. I moved to Eastern Oregon, then California, then Washington, then Montana, and now Utah. He remained in Portland. No, I don't see him often, not nearly often enough. He has a career, three lovely daughters, and a giant Boxer, who makes our Kitty look like a Chihuahua. He is busy. So am I. But on the rare occasions that we do get together, it is always a pleasure. I love him. I appreciate his constancy, his humor, his dedication to doing right. I wish I could see him more.

I was blessed with five children of my own. Not only do I rejoice in that for myself, but for them. Each of them has four siblings with whom to share life. How wonderful! This weekend four of the five were here at home at least part of the time. Shulamith and Seth, of course, live here full time (hooray!). Isaiah was here Thursday and Friday nights, and Eli came Friday until today. Can I just say that I am seriously groovin' on all this family time?

Thursday night was the midnight release of Nintendo's latest cash grab, Super Smash Bros for the 3DS. I've explained before my feelings about video-games, but regardless of my opinion, with sons who love them, they are part of my life. Isaiah pre-ordered this game weeks ago, while poor Seth stood by with hopeless longing. A $40 price tag for Seth may as well be $40,000. Christmas is three months away. How would he ever wait that long? Little did he know that when Isaiah pre-ordered his own copy of Smash, he also ordered one for Seth. Yes, Isaiah is that nice.

So late Thursday night, the two of them headed off to Game Stop, Seth believing he was just along for the ride, there to watch Isaiah pick up his game. Imagine his surprise when there was a copy waiting for him too! I wish I'd been there, okay not enough to go out at midnight, mind you, but a little. They came home and played non-stop into the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, Seth had Friday off from school; Isaiah still had to get up and go to work. 

Friday night, Isaiah came back. Eli was on his way driving down from Rexburg with his friend, the former Elder Bradley Bell. The two of them would attend the first Petersen mission reunion in Farr West, for missionaries who served in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission under the leadership of President Steven Petersen. That was apparently a huge success. Most of Eli's former companions are still in the field, but he enjoyed reuniting with the Petersens and those missionaries who are home. He arrived here around 9:00 Friday night, in time to spend a bit of time with Isaiah and try out the new video-game. First thing Saturday morning, Gerald drove Isaiah to the airport, where he flew to Orlando. He will be there a week, then home overnight, then off to Nashville for a week, followed by a week in San Francisco.

Shulamith and I are just a little jealous of all this travel. We are living vicariously through Isaiah. This week, the client has paid for the Lanyon team to spend one evening in Disney World and another at Universal Studios at the Harry Potter exhibit. Okay, now we're not just a little jealous; we're full on covetous! A job requiring this much travel would not be ideal for everyone, but for a single, 23-year-old, with zero responsibilities at home, it's just about perfect. We're grateful Isaiah has this opportunity.

At last came Saturday morning, which began one of my two favorite weekends of the year: General Conference, the semiannual worldwide meeting of our church. We all love it! Well, Gerald, Shulamith, Eli, and I love it; Seth has to be bribed just a bit. This time, because he's now in seminary, he had an assignment to watch all five sessions and take notes, but he still asked me if I'd be buying the usual General Conference treats. I get all his favorite things and then bring them out periodically throughout the sessions. I won't go into detail, but let's just say Pringles, chocolate, Twinkies, and red vines are involved.

As I write, it is 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Eli and Elder Bell just left for the return trip to Rexburg. They will listen to the final session of Conference in the car radio while we watch here at home. The sessions yesterday and this morning have been excellent. I could point to so many inspiring talks, but Elder Jeffrey R. Holland seriously rocked the Conference Center yesterday afternoon. His understanding of and concern for the poor among us is truly prophetic, his heartfelt plea for us to care for our fellow beings, the truest example of Christlike love. With tears in his eyes: "We may not be our brother's keeper, but we are our brother's brother."

The weekend is winding down. I'm trying hard not to be sad. It was so good to have Isaiah here and to see Eli after nearly three weeks away at college. Have I mentioned before that I'm not all that impressed with this idea of kids growing up and leaving home? It will be seven weeks before Eli is back for Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure a trip up to Rexburg between now and then is in my future. Meanwhile, I'm ever so grateful for technology that keeps us all connected in ways we'd never thought possible even 15 years ago. The final session of Conference just began. The choir is singing. Seth just commented, "It's just you, Dad, and me. Just the three of us. It's weird." Indeed. Shulamith is downstairs napping her babies. Eli is on the road. Ahhh!

Before Eli left, I had begun writing this blog, and I posted the picture above of Isaiah holding Shulamith's baby, Kennedy. Eli looked over my shoulder and remarked, "Isaiah doesn't get to make the blog. It's a General Conference blogpost, and he's not watching General Conference." Haha, you gotta love siblings.

I love my brother, Tom, and I'm grateful for him. And I'm grateful my children have each other. Siblings: The Longest Relationships we have.