I Suck At Seeing My Brother

Yesterday, Karen and I had dinner at my parents. The big occasion was for my brother, who was up from Texas for the week for a little vacation. Now, I suck at seeing my brother.

I have not seen my brother for about six years. Shortly after Karen and I got married, my brother moved to Texas with his "friend", Paul. Interestingly enough, that just reminded me of the movie, Full Metal Jacket. To quote the movie: "Texas? Only steers and queers come from Texas, Private Cowboy. And you don't look much like a steer to me so that kinda narrows it down."

Not that there is anything wrong with that of course. I would still love him. He's still my brother. I just wish he'd come out and say it were so and stop referring to Paul as his "friend" or "roommate". But I guess he's still not ready... or something.

Since moving down to Texas, my brother has not returned home to Massachusetts for a visit... until yesterday. Similarly, I have not gone down to Texas to visit him. My parents went several years ago, but I declined when they asked if I wanted to go with them to visit him. Consequently, it has been over six years since I last saw my brother.

I guess I am okay with that. My brother and I are not particularly close. Growing up, we used to do a lot of things together. Although I can't remember much from when I was young, my mother used to tell me that I would always do stuff for my brother. For example, if I received candy from one of my mom's friends, I would always make sure to get a piece of candy for my brother too.

We used to watch television a lot. My brother even got me into reading comic books when I was younger. Things started to change when he went to high school. Things were never the same between my brother and I since then. I think part of it was that my brother had to find out who he was first. It almost sounds like that Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints... the Mormons! commercial. I am also guessing that living in a household with a younger sibling who exuded awesomeness may have hampered things a little for my brother. Just kidding.

Needless to say, my brother and I are not close any more. I look at Karen's relationship with her sister/my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and sometimes feel envious. Maybe things will change between my brother and I. Who knows? If Karen and I are ever lucky enough to have another child, it would be nice for our child to know his/her uncle.

Anyway, my brother arrived in Boston yesterday. As you can imagine, my parents were quite exited. My cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin) also showed up for dinner. Dinner was good.

Marvin cracks me up. Marvin is in 8th grade. For Marvin, it was his first time meeting my brother. So naturally, he started asking my brother a bunch of questions. One of the questions Marvin asked my brother had me laughing in stitches.

Basically, Marvin found out how old my brother was. (My brother turned the big 4-0 this year.) Upon learning that my brother was 40, Marvin then asked my brother if he were a virgin. I chuckled. If only Marvin knew. Both Karen and my brother were surprised by the question because it seemed to have come from out of the blue. Having the same mentally as a 13 year old, I understood Marvin's train of thought. (For anyone curious, his question was related to the movie, The 40 Year Old Virgin... which Marvin claims he has never seen.)

Eventually, Karen and my brother figured out the train of thought that led to the question. It was just hysterical watching it unfold. Marvin was just a riot. He referred to all of us as being in a different timeline than him... which is somewhat true. After all, I remember when Karen and I took him and Betty to the airport. Marvin was just a baby then and Betty was going to raise him in Hong Kong for several years. How quickly they grow...

All in all, I had fun at dinner yesterday. I think Marvin definitely made the night interesting.