My Brother

I don't often get to spend lots of time around my brother.  Having moved into the Twin Cities, I'm now living only 20 minutes away from my brother Jason and his wife Megan.  I love being this close! 

The day my car died (the first time), it was my brother who arrived before the two truck and waited with me until it arrived, driving with me to the service station to talk with the mechanic.  He unloaded my truck and loaned me his vehicle for a few days.  Again, during the second bout with car troubles, my brother walked me through some basic testing as directed by the agency renting me the car--checking for a spark, listening for fuel pump, and testing fuel line pressure (all new things for me).  It helped to have two pairs of hands to walk through those tests.  I've so appreciated his calm demeanor and his shoulder to cry on while facing car problems.

It's also been fun these past few weeks to work with Jason and Megan on their new deck.  They planned the entire project out and Jason did a great job enabling Megan and me to help.  It's not easy having two women waiting on you for direction while you're trying to figure out solutions to problems.  Jason handled it with much grace.  Late nights hanging out in their backyard working beneath floodlights are some of my fondest memories.  I love the physical work, but also the joy of working beside my brother and his wife.

In preparation for their annual cider party, Jason and I drove to Delano to pick up the apples.  Along the way we snapped a picture of a chicken, turned around to go to a dollar store, and enjoyed petting/holding all the animals at the apple orchard (along with a game of tether ball).  The cider party was a success!  It was special to see my brother engaging everyone who came--no matter what age or physical ability.  He taught about mashing the apples and then pressing them.  What a neat guy!  I'm blessed to call him my brother.  I look forward to more fun memories throughout the next months!