The Donovan Clan: Outside the touch of time

This past weekend, I celebrated in the marriage of my baby brother. For some reason, I was not expecting the wave of emotions that came with the event.

My brother and I were very close as kids. We were just a mere 2 and a half years apart, much the same as Grayson and Ella. In fact, I think seeing my own kids share the same type of relationship with each other is what made this occassion even more emotional.

From what I hear, when Daniel was born I wasn't the happiest camper. But, who would be when you were the center of attention for 2 plus years! I know the stories of me going under his baby bed and kicking his mattress to scare him. Yes, I was a little mischevious! On the other hand, I also remember playing for hours together whether it was ninja turtles, building tents, the sandbox, wrestling, etc. We had a blast! I also remember us hanging our heads outside of our bedroom doors after coming home from a trip to the mall. We had both not been the best behaved (probably hiding under clothing racks) and were waiting on our "spankings." We would tease eachother until it was our turn. Then, there were nights that I couldn't sleep and Daniel would stay up with me until I fell asleep. He was always so genuinely caring. Christmas mornings were great too! Much like other siblings, we would both wake up and rush our parents out of bed! Dad always had a way of making us wait though! Daniel and I had a thing for making potions. We would pour just about every liquid in our bathroom closet into a cup and dare eachother to drink it! Disgusting!

Then, there were other times when he "cramped" my style. I wanted my own space and when he would cry those alligator tears to go down the street to Carrie's with me, I wanted no part of it. Thinking of it now makes me want to cry for being so selfish! And, then there was the time that he refused to get off of the computer when I had an expected "IM" session with an older boy. My temper got the best of me and he ended up with a broken arm. Man, I was mean! And, Daniel, is just as sweet now and he always was. This story has been told many times to my own daughter when she loses her temper and even to my students in my classroom!

I love my baby brother so much and am so thankful God placed him in my life. Our life lessons as children are helping me mold my own children into the kind of big sister and little brother they should be. I love watching them play and create special memories and hope that they will always cherish eachother. One thing I know for sure is that I felt extremely proud this past weekend! There is not much better than watching your baby brother accomplish something so big and look so happy! He holds a very special place inside of his sister's heart.

I ran into this quote the other day that perfectly summarizes my feelings as the big sis: To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. - Clara Ortega