Sunday Morning

This morning I rattled around the house with my cup of hot tea. G-Man had already left for his volunteer shift at the aquarium. My Sweetie was back in bed after being up at the wee hours working. Molly retreated to den for some more sleep after her morning potty break.

The day hadn’t started off great. A bad dream woke me up. Then an asthma attack came with breakfast. I wanted to lie down again but didn’t want to disturb my Sweetie. So I opted to stretch out on Mr. A’s queen-size bed. I chose his room simply because G-Man’s room looked like a tornado had blown through.

As I settled down on top of the quilt, I rolled to my side and noticed the empty picture frame on the bedside table. I reached for it and held it in my hand as I wondered what photo used to be in it.

For the past 10 years the frame held a photo of Mr. A and G-Man. Two brothers with their fishing poles, standing on the shore of the lake by our house, and grinning into the camera. An 8-year-old Mr. A proudly holding up a bass on the end of his line.

A lump formed in my throat as I realized what happened to the photo. The moment was surreal for me. It was if time had stopped while my brain made all of the connections. Mr. A removed the photo from the frame and took it back to the Academy with him. He had to take it out of the frame because Midshipmen are only allowed to display personal photos on their corkboards.

Wow, he really does love and miss his brother.

My children continue to amaze me. They are brothers who truly love and like one another. I marvel at their relationship and some days I even covet it. My sister and I never shared a close relationship. It’s the only thing I’ve ever missed in my life. I’m glad to know that my boys will always have each other.