Okay, I'll admit it, I am a basket case. And, I carry around a lot of baggage - not girth, emotional baggage. Girth is getting to be a problem, too. :(
My heart swells with love for so many and emotional tears fill my eyes so easily. This morning my heart is bursting with love for my brother Norman as my eyes fill with tears at his loss. I am happy, and I do celebrate opportunities he has had to move on from this life...to realize the joys of reuniting with family beyond the veil but still, the pain of loss is there.
Today would be Norman's birthday. We won't talk about which birthday because then I'd have to acknowledge my own increased number of years. Its just his birthday...and time to remember and reflect.
Norman was an adventurous little boy...he loved to explore and he loved to wander. And wander he did. As a younster he had a slight build and tow headed - his blond hair just a mass of tight, tiny ringlet curls. As he grew older, his hair turned a darker "ditchwater blonde" instead of the tow headed blonde of his youth. The curls relaxed a bit but still maintained a pretty good bounce atop his head.
Norman had a sparkle in his eyes and a mischevious smile. He always left you wondering what he was up to now. As a youngster, it wasn't at all uncommon for him to turn up miles from home...oftentimes with a shoe shine box in tow where he had been making money. In adulthood he could still turn up anywhere...he even joined a carnival and traveled the country for a couple years. He was street smart and independent. He was generous to a fault and hardworking. Norman worked for years at a plant that processed citrus juices. He loved life. He loved his family. He loved visitors and he loved phone calls.
Norman battled renal (kidney) cancer and faced so many challenges from that disease. He was strong and he faced those challenges with the heart of a lion. I was fortunate enough to spend time with Norman in his final weeks. I'll carry with me the memory of my younger brother, so anguished by his condition yet gripping my hand and smiling - that same mischevious smile - expressing hopefulness for the future, for his future as he entered into the next phase of his life.
It was so hard getting the call that he was gone. It was hard waiting for him to be placed at rest. I know he was welcomed into the arms of those waiting for him. I still miss him. I still love him.
Happy birthday, Norman.
