My brother hasn't had an easy childhood. My dad gave me pictures of Vlad from the time he was born to now and I could barely stand to look at the pictures of his early childhood because I knew what this sweet and innocent boy would have to go through in the years that followed. I was at home for some of the bad times, but I escaped most of it. I was lucky enough to only have to go through 2-3 years of craziness before I went to a boarding school when I was 15 whereas my brother couldn't leave the house. Whereas my mother saw me as a semi Goddess, she resented my brother and blamed him for a lot of her unhappiness. He bore most of her anger and had to deal with her physical and emotional violence. I had to deal with pretty crappy moments, too, but I was old enough to handle them. Contrary to me, he was not naive and dealt with my parents' arguments and my mom's addiction with eyes wide open. For instance, someone had to tell me that my mom drank when I was 15 (I seriously would have never guessed) while my brother, who was only 6, knew where she hid the bottles. Our experiences still shape who we are today: I am still naive and too forgiving and he is realistic and really protects himself by not letting our mom (or anyone else for that matter) invade his space.
Our lives were not bad, of course: we laughed a lot and our dad and our (sober) mom are great parents. It just amazes me that he has become such an intelligent young man with a healthy ego and a ferocious sense of humor. I love him so much because he's my brother but also because I know what he's gone through and what he is now, and I admire him for the resilience he's shown. I keep on asking him to move to the US but he's fine in Paris for now. I hope to change his mind in a couple of years when he applies for a Master's program.
I like this picture because it simply shows how well we get along.
2 comments:
Reason #254 why I love your blog: I learn more about you (& extensions of you: politics, family, religion, etc.) every time I read a new post. You can just feel the motherly, protective, Mama-Bear love you have for your brother coming right out of the post. It's great you have such a great relationship with him, and too bad that you live so far apart from each other. I'll be crossing my fingers for a US grad school. :-) It's also amazing to hear about what an amazing person your brother is, despite a rough childhood. He's fortunate to have you for a sister!
Can you tell I'm catching up on blog posts? This was so insightful... I knew you and your brother were close but didn't understand your history/what makes you love him so much (other than the fact that he's your brother). He sounds as resilient and amazing as you are.: )
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