Jackson Free Press

This past summer, I met my older brother for the first time. He was the product of a previous relationship my dad had, and although I knew he existed, I did not know his name or anything.
Anyway, he and his family were on their way to Florida when his grandmother died, so he remained in Mississippi for the funeral. I don't know all the details, but he contacted my dad somehow, and after getting over the initial shock that my brother was in town, we went to the hotel he was staying at to meet him and his wife and son. I think we talked for about an hour or so, and we promised each other that we would get together again soon. My younger sister invited him to her house for Christmas, so he came along with his family, including his niece. We had so much fun that we decided to visit him at his home in Georgia in February since his birthday was that month.

Well, my sisters, their kids, my brother-in-law and I packed our bags (I think my younger sister had at least eight) and hit the road Friday afternoon. Even though we left two hours late because of a goof-up with the van rental, we got there before 9 PM. We met up with him at a gas station, and we followed him to his home, which is in a small town outside of Atlanta. The suburban home looked like something right off of Wisteria Lane. It was on a cul-de-sac with a basketball goal in front. We were greeted by his wife, 11-year-old son and 8-year-old bull mastiff.

After chowing down on pizza, we took a tour of the home. I loved the combination of casual and rustic decor throughout the home as well as my newly-found nephew's artwork on display everywhere. A cool feature was the souped-up basement with displayed collectibles and a nautical theme. My brother even made a special private place for his son to play video games. My nephew spent most of his time down there, so there were moments that I forgot he came on the trip with us.

My sister-in-law pulled out all the photos so we could catch up on all the important events and special moments we missed throughout the years - wedding pictures, baby pictures, embarrassing pictures, etc. She let us have some of the duplicates so that we could take a piece of them back home. After running our mouths, we hit the sack - hard.

Saturday was spent hitting the outlet stores and the mall, and we could not believe all the great sales they had. My younger sister really loves to shop, so she did the most damage. I am still amazed that they were able to stuff everything in the van without the doors being blown off. Even after that, my sister-in-law let us go through some stuff from her attic for a future yard sale, so we got even more things to haul back home. My sister-in-law cooked a huge dinner: beef stew, rice, and corn on the cob. That corn didn't stand a chance, especially when my 5-year-old niece got her little hands on it. My eight-year-old niece came down with a stomach virus, so she didn't get to eat much.

We went to church with them on Sunday. The members were so nice that I felt like I was in Mayberry or something. My brother was in the choir, and his niece played the cello. We met his niece's mother and sister, and they joined us for the remainder of the day. After hitting the clearance racks at Kohl's, we sat down to a big spaghetti dinner prepared by my sister-in-law's sister and talked until dark. It was so hard to leave that we got back on the road four hours behind schedule.

Overall, this trip is one that I will always treasure. We got to bond with our long-lost brother and his family, and we miss them like crazy. I even miss the dog because she was so sweet and mild-mannered. We're already talking about going back there for Thanksgiving, and I hope my mom and younger brother cam come this time. When we were there, it felt we had known each other for years. You know, talking trash, horseplay and all of the good stuff that comes with sibling relationships.

Hey, we didn't have a big tear-jerking reunion on Oprah or anything, but I don't mind at all. We finally found that last piece of the family puzzle, we're holding on to it for dear life, and that's all that counts.

Previous Comments

ID

110430

Comment

I went to a family reunion in Chicago in which I met many family members I never knew about. In fact, I have a cousin who from Toledo, OH, who's now going to JSU. It's nice to know when you have family you didn't know even existed, especially in your case, when it's a brother you never met before.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-02-21T10:30:21-06:00

ID

110431

Comment

Thanks, GEB. I still have a lot of relatives that I don't know yet, but meeting a sibling is extra special, especially when the person turns out to be nice.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-02-21T15:13:56-06:00