Saturday, December 29, 2018

Sibling Reflections: Frankie



 
 
 
 
 Among many things, Felix was born to be a big brother. When Jack was a baby, he would only go to Felix. Baby Jack was attached to 16 year old Felix by the hip. When my mom would try to take Jack from Felix he would cry until he was returned.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Even though Felix was away at college when my youngest brother Luke was born he still made time to teach him how to ride a bike, play tag- even at night, and give him piggy back rides.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As a kid I was nothing but a ball of energy, jumping around, off the walls, and driving everyone crazy. It was easy to write me off as just a bad kid, a nuisance. There was one person that refused to do so and that was Felix. At school and at home nobody knew how to deal with my energy. On summer days you could see Felix and me sitting on the swings as he taught me how to knit. Here was the kid that everyone was afraid to try and control and with just his gentle nature Felix had me at full attention directing my energy into a constructive and creative outlet. This was a task that came so naturally to Felix but was something teachers, my other siblings, relatives, and even friends could not achieve. While others would make me feel like I was just a bad kid and a burden, with Felix I felt important and loved.
 
 
 
Not only this but Felix's creativity and nurturing aura translated into acts of brotherly love that I will remember for the rest of my life. I recall a moment where Felix led me to the window facing our shed as we wore our matching red bracelets. He said he wanted to show me something. He held my hand and asked me to look at the shed counting down from 10. Together we counted down and the moment we hit 1 a stampede of bunnies hopped out from under the shed. An amazing feeling washed over me as if I was witnessing magic. As far as I was concerned, I was witnessing magic. I think back to that instance knowing he must have put so much thought into creating that moment for me. I now know this could have only been achieved by enlisting the help of our next door neighbor and asking him to knock on the shed once our countdown was complete, drawing the bunnies out. I find comfort in remembering this moment and how Felix always went out of his way to show how much he cared in a special and unique way. Whenever I see bunnies I am taken back to that feeling of wonder, I even got a tattoo of a bunny because of how deeply I was affected by what Felix did for me that day and now whenever I see a bunny I will know that he is there.
 


 
The things Felix instilled in me are things that I will always carry with me forever and that is why I will always have my big brother there with me. He taught me what it means to be a big brother and now it's up to me to be the best big brother I can be.

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