Facebook is telling me that today is Sibling Day. I see posts with happy pictures and funny stories or how awesome their siblings are...and another complex emotion day begins. Maybe you have felt that way too on a day such as this- should I post something as well about my siblings-even though one of them is gone? Memories from the past bubble up in my brain, kicking in the grief and longing to talk to my sister. Then my brain goes to my brother, wondering if he's sad today too and should I talk to him today or would that make it harder on him too?
One of the things I have learned in the last 20 years is that we can hold more than one emotion or thought at the same time. I can enjoy the posts from my friends about their siblings, while missing my sister while still appreciating my brother all at the same time. Feeling all those feelings can be exhausting, but also a good reminder that while we remain in the land of the living, our memories also live with us.
By the way, I hate this family picture from high school. I hate the matching outfits and mullet that I somehow thought was a good choice. But I love our smiles and I love the memory of us all together, for that moment. My poor mother, as a photographer, must have felt such pressure to get good family photos as samples and we were not the best tests subjects. Often we would take a silly face photo first to get it out of our system and then try to get one where we all looked good. I think we look pretty good in this one, despite my mullet.
Happy Sibling Day to those of us who continue to love and celebrate and long for all of our siblings.
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