It’s my brother’s 6 year anniversary today. It’s difficult to admit that with each year it gets easier to accept his passing, only because he has technically never left my side. I’ve always felt him near me every day – especially on the difficult days. Whenever I crumble in tears over various reasons, I immediately feel his familiar presence. He was always so worried about people’s feelings. He would stop whatever he was doing if he saw someone in pain. Didn’t matter if he knew them, didn’t matter if he was running late, he’d stop and help them in whatever way he could. The same compassion he had for strangers, he had for animals. The last cat he owned, he found alone along the city streets of San Francisco. The first day he sat next to her and held her for awhile. He didn’t know if she was owned by someone, so he left hoping she would be OK. On his way home the third day he promptly adopted her after confirming she was unowned. I clearly remember our conversations on the phone and he couldn’t stop worrying about her. He was very proud of himself for saving that little kitty and giving her a safe warm home. ♥ He used to manage a vineyard in Napa and his workers were about to kill a snake they came across. He quickly put that to a stop and scooped up the snake (once he realized it wasn’t poisonous) and he brought it home with him. He cared for that snake for several years and was heartbroken when Victoria passed on.
My brother was a gentle man who loved everyone he met. I love to hear from others the stories they have about what he meant to them. He didn’t have any children of his own, but every child he knew he would take on as his own and loved them very much. To the best of his abilities he always made himself available to friends and family, and he could talk for HOURS! If you were lucky enough to catch him in the late evening, he’d have you up late for as long as you wanted to stay up. 🙂 He always made ‘everything better’. I miss him the most because of that; there have been so many days I could have used a phone call with him to just ease the pain I was in, because I knew he could relate. But I know he’s near still, he’s busy as always working to make ‘everything all better’ for his family and friends. ♥
