My Little Brother



In a world where things have slowed to a crawl…where death waits at the door…where every moment with mom has become precious…a hidden blessing has showed up.  That blessing walked in the door last Saturday afternoon and I have spent five days rejoicing and thanking God for letting me see this blessing.  It’s a blessing I’ve had for all but five years of my life…I’ve known it was a blessing…but I’d forgotten.  Forgotten because time and space and distance and life had gotten in the way.  And now I’m being reminded again of how much God loves me, because He blessed me with a little brother…David Paige.

Someone once told me that if you want to know how a man will treat you when you’re his wife then watch how he treats his mother.  I’ve decided this week that my sister-in-law Kim must feel incredibly loved and cherished for I’ve watched David love and cherish his mother in beautiful, tender and practical ways.  He’s brought a smile to her face…and mine.  He’s filled the house with “love talk”…whispering in her ear how beautiful she is, how much he loves her, how sorry he is that she’s going through this…and I get the overflow of all the love surrounding me.  He sits next to her, arms around her…he looks her in the eye and lets his forehead tenderly lie against hers…he’s not afraid to smother her with “smooches”.  I’ve watched him run interference to make sure mom’s sleep is protected and visitors can’t disturb her.  He cajoles her…bribes her…pleads with her…strategizes every possible way to encourage her to take her medicines when she struggles to understand why she needs the meds.  He touches her tenderly as he helps her from the bed…putting her slippers on her feet…rubbing her back.  He helps her lie down gently.  He’s like a gentle giant next to her…because she seems to be growing smaller and shrinking right before our eyes…and he only adjusts to treat her more tenderly.  He does everything he can to keep from frustrating her, answering her questions with anything he thinks she might like to hear.  He talks to her of Dad’s love….he talks to her of heaven…he teases her…he flirts with her…and you can tell he makes her feel beautiful again because her eyes light up with all the wonderful attention.

I sit back here in my room tonight having listened to him get her to bed.  He takes first watch in the night because we refuse to leave her alone in the living room after her fall a couple of days ago.  He can’t get her water or Boost fast enough if she expresses an interest in them.  He fluffs her pillow…straightens her sheets…warms her hands.  I’ve NEVER seen a man treat his mother the way David is treating our mom…and oh what a gift it’s been to me to see how wonderful he’s turned out.

I’ve always loved David.  I was five when he came home and he was MY baby.  I can remember him crawling in bed with me on Christmas Eve when he was a little guy about three and I was eight and we giggled in the night, so excited to know Santa was on his way.  I can remember his laughter and how he always kept us smiling…until I was dating and he and his friend one night tormented my boyfriend and I as we parked and visited in the front yard.   They thought it would be funny to stick their heads in the car windows and yell, “Rooooaaaarrrrrrr.” 

And then something happened.  I moved away…got married…had children.  He found a wife…she broke his heart.  But God was soooooo good to him and directed him so that his path crossed with Kim’s…and we’ve all been blessed to watch them love each other, encourage each other and just bless anyone who came into their lives by sharing that love.

David has a knack for networking.  But he doesn’t do it to “get ahead”…he does it because he truly loves people.  He treats people with respect.  He looks for ways to make them feel special.  He’s done a wonderful job of making me feel special through this whole process with mom.

So tonight…I honor my baby brother with a blog…a blog to say “Thank You” for becoming the man you are…a man with dad’s strength of character and love for people, a man with mom’s ability to “take care of things”, a man who loves his wife and isn’t afraid to say so...and a man who loves those of us lucky enough to be blessed with having him in our lives.  I love you, David.