08 September 2009

And Here's To You, MAJ Livingston.


Being an only child is generally full of suckage. You're the only one in the house who gets blamed for the broken lamp, people snidely remark Must be nice to be spoiled rotten! when, duh, you're the only kid in the house, of course you're going to get all the toys and attention, and then there's that whole playing Barbies or GI Joe by yourself that is never a good time. But the one great part about being an only child is that when you're older, you get to hand-pick your siblings.

The awesome thing about Ian, my brother from another mother, is that we disagree about everything. We have been known to have over-the-table shouting matches about abortion/gays in the military/Islamic extremism/gay marriage/religion/foie gras*, you name it, we holler at each other about it. But we also have a deep, abiding love and admiration for one another, for what we've each gone through with our families, our marriages, and our children. We've stood by each other through the really dark times and we always agree on sci-fi, Quentin Tarantino, Monty Python, and dark humor. The laughter and silliness comes easily to us and even though, at the end of the day, we can't agree on God's influence or lack thereof in our lives, we still love each other like brother and sister.

Thanks for the great visit this weekend, bro. Glad you're back in the states and I've missed you, Vonda, and your sweet girls, terribly!

*Actually, we've never disagreed about foie gras, but we did once scream at each other about Native Americans. Yeah. It was bad.

12 comments:

HEATHER said...

I figured you were hanging out at Dragon Con. Hope you had a great time!

Irrational Dad said...

It's not just when you're an only child... I've fallen right in as big brother to my sister's-in-law and only ever refer to them as in-laws when people need to be clarified on exactly how many sisters I have.

sybil law said...

I have a couple of brothers like yours, and they are incredible.
I'm pretty sure he's happy to have you, too. :)

Unknown said...

Lucky you - to have such a brother. And him, too, vice versa.

Unknown said...

Foie gras? ;-)

On our way back from L'Absinthe, we walked by a group protesting foie gras.

"This restaurant serves foie gras!" She told me in a tone that meant it wasn't a good thing.

"How much is it?" I replied and walked away. :-)

Not Afraid to Use It said...

I thought you were at DragonCon, too! LOL Glad you had such a nice visit.

Sarcastica said...

I also have a few bros like that, and I really don't believe that "blood is thicker than water" because sometimes, it just isn't.

(not saying my family isn't great, just saying that extended family can be just as great too)

hello haha narf said...

holy hell is he cute.

ahem.

i love picking family. there are many folks in my life like your ian. it makes me happy to know you have someone like him in your life.

you know, i can't imagine what it would have been like to have been an only child. as the youngest of six, if it ain't noisy i think something is wrong!

A Free Man said...

You're better off really. I wish I could have chosen a sibling rather than having one thrust upon me...

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

Other Heather - I know. I wish we could have gone, but not with us, three kids, Ian, Vonda and their two kids. It would have been BONKERS! We chose a quiet weekend at home with friends.

Joe - Good for you! That's awesome, hon!

Sybil Law - He is. Unless we get into arguments. Then he rolls his eyes a lot. Poor thing!

LceeL - We are lucky to have found one another.

LeSombre - Eh, it was something wonky to pick out and put in the list. An attention-getter if you will. And that's awesome how you handled the protester! Hee hee!

NATUI - Thanks!

Sarcastica - I completely agree. Sometimes family is less-than-dependable than one's friends.

Hello Haha Narf - I'll tell him you said that! ;) And youngest of six? Wow. I wouldn't know how to act!

A Free Man - Yep. Picking siblings is awesome!

Unknown said...

I have to tell you Heather, your post really touched me. You very eloquently summed up our relationship and I couldn't have put it better. I was just saying to Vonda on our drive home how you, Ty and the rest of your clan really are family to me. Vonda and I love all of you and are very grateful to have you in our lives. You are all family to us. Thanks for having us up this past weekend!

Love,
Ian

Gypsy said...

Nice to have someone you can disagree with like that.