This is a picture of myself and my little brothers and sisters from back there in Minnesota. This picture was taken at Christmas 2003. Little did we all know that just after Easter, we would never be all together again. My brother John, middle of the back row, was killed in a car accident April 30th, 2004. I so can't believe it has been that long. I so can't believe it still brings so much pain, so many tears to think that he is gone. 6 years the world has been turning without him.
John was the kind to jump into life with both feet.
As children, he was my biggest confidant and my biggest foe.
Uncle John was always excited to see Madison and Eli. They loved their crazy Uncle John. He would style their hair and chase them around the house. He shared his love of music with them. They loved him.
My mom posted this on her facebook page today. I love it. Here are all three of my missing brothers. John, gone from this world, Chris and David sacrificing their own plans and lives to serve our country in Iraq.
John taming the wild animal cousins-sadly not a very clear picture-even sadder, one of the very few pictures I have of John.
As we grew, we went in different directions, but John and I always shared those years and memories. When John died, I not only lost him, I also lost huge pieces of myself. My little brother remembered everything, and I remember almost nothing of our youth. He remembered every moment and detail about the life we shared. Now that he is gone I no longer have that link to my past.
I wanted to remember him today. I want to remember the happy, not the sad. When loved ones pass from this life, I don't think the very thought of them should be sad. I have termed April 30th, 2010 as John Day. It is my day to remember the crazy kid my brother always was, and how much I love him still today.
Crazy things I want to remember:
Him in his leisure suit after church trying to sell me his broken toy-age 4
John telling Mom I ate all the chocolate chips when it was HIM!(he finally admitted it one day)
Our late night sleepovers-we spent hours writing letters one each other's backs and tried to guess what each other wrote
Him being dragged behind the dog when he was supposed to be walking the thing(not the other way around)
A really good hug when John was having a hard time-age 12
Around the campfire at the family vacations
John spiking Eli's hair when Eli was 6 weeks old
The Easter Egg hunt I insisted on my brothers and sisters participating in 2 weeks before he died
I love you John
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