little brother.

An evening spent with one of the most wonderful boys in the entire world is a pretty awesome way to end the day. We braved the insane cold of this winter night on a quest for pasta and found it in our little town, homemade and steaming hot, tasting of zingy tomatoes, garlic, and sweet basil leaves. There was fresh bread dipped in olive oil as we talked about...everything. Life. The things that are so important to a thirteen year old boy. Sitting across the table from him, listening to how he got all A's and B's this semester, what his new school is like, his friends, t.v. shows being watched and video games being played, relationships from here to there, his side of difficult situations, I thought of how proud I am to be his sister. To have this amazing kid in my life is pretty incredible. He's just a regular boy his age, no amazing talents to brag about or some crazy IQ to rave of...but, he's mine. My little brother. And I think he's the most amazing, wonderful, interesting thirteen year old boy alive right now.

We laugh a lot, the two of us. We think and talk about things like, if you tape the fuel gage in a car, would it still move? We argue back and forth about Wolverine and if he can heal himself. I won. We try and decide which book I should read next....and I'm made to feel a little guilty because I haven't read the Hunger Games;-) And we talk about serious stuff too...about reading the Bible, about being balanced and how you can be a deep, serious Christian who loves the Lord with all their heart and still be filled with joy and have fun.

It's interesting to be so much older than him. To watch him grow and mature and tell me of how he'd like to be a surgeon one day. He moves his hands back and forth in the air when he's really intent on having me understand something, he concentrates, furrowing his brow, and right there, the face looking back at me is suddenly my mother's. Though he may not know it yet, she is imprinted on him in more ways than one. I'm proud of her, of the son she is raising. This handsome, red headed, funny, intelligent boy is so much like her....and yet he belongs completely to himself.

Sitting across the table from him, sharing a plate of spaghetti, laughing as we slurp up the the noodles and talk about all of this, I am content beyond words. This is what it's about. These moments that are so ordinary and easily forgotten, that fill my days and make them fat and overflowing with joy, these are what I treasure. I love that at thirteen years old, this brother of mine likes to be with me not doing much of anything. I smile and hold close the funny little things that make up this relationship we have...of racing to the car through the freezing Colorado air, somehow imagining the car will be warmer. Jumping inside, yelling and howling about why it's SO cold, rubbing our hands and complaining about how long the heat takes to actually warm up (quite a difficult thing to accomplish when it's 3 degrees outside) and trying to talk it into submission. Laughing and pretending to sing opera....because, this definitely helps one to warm up oh, so much faster! Yes, it's all of this...the stupid, silly little things we do together that I love. I treasure this time we have together, while life for him is still somewhat simple, though I know he doesn't feel like it is. One day he'll see that right now is not as complicated as it felt at the time. That math tests and trying to get to the next level in a video game were actually pretty uncomplicated. So, before being an adult has pushed its way into his life, I'm savoring the childhood that is slipping away from him, though even this he may not realize .

I am blessed. For so many reasons. But, this little brother of mine, he has blessed me from the moment he entered this world. He is one of the biggest blessings Jesus has seen fit to give me. And more than I can express, I am so grateful that He looked down upon me and decided this sweet boy should be my brother. Looking across the table, I pray that all of this, this time we spend together talking about the things that matter to him in this moment and of how Jesus is there through it all, I pray this makes a difference. I gaze into the chocolate brown eyes of this boy who is almost a man, and I just simply love him. And in this moment, I see the face of my God shining out through the chocolate eyes He created.

"To love another person is to see the face of God."

              -Victor Hugo 

© Jade Valcarcel 2013. All rights reserved