Oh, Brother

I am an only child. It has its benefits. But I think I would have preferred having a sibling -- assuming the sibling wasn't some sort of jerk, of course.

Growing up, I thought it would have been especially nice to have had a brother. Something about the idea of an older brother appealed to me -- a confidant who would share his innermost thoughts and shine light on the mysterious workings of the male mind. (Yeah, right. But it was a nice thought back then.)

Now, I wish I had a sibling for entirely different reasons. Mainly, I wish my parents had another child who could balance out the worries I bring to their lives --someone with a relatively smooth-sailing-life and perfectly typical children. And, there is the problem of who in the heck I could name as guardians in a will, but, holy crap, if I think about that I will have to open a bottle of wine.

So, all of that being said, I just have to take a moment to note the evening I spent last weekend with two great "old" pals. I went to pre-K with one, and to Kindergarten with both. We grew up in the same little suburb and went to the same schools all the way through high school graduation.

They are a couple of great guys. Smart, sweet and sincere.

As I ate ice cream with them outside the Cold Stone Creamery last Saturday, I listened to them talk about the circumstances of my life and couldn't help but think that this is how two brothers would probably talk about me. For a moment, it was as if they had even forgotten I was sitting alongside them.

"Whatever she does," one of them said to the other, "she has to make sure she protects herself."

"I mean it is not even like she can go out and work a normal job," the other said. "She has a kid with all these special needs."

I was lost, for a moment, listening to them. It is not like I have seen them much in recent years. But they learned about the stress in my life and both reached out to me.

And then one of them said to me words I never will forget.

"I would just hate it, Leah, if you had to go through all of this again -- if you were hurt again."

They are good, genuine guys, and I am so very glad to know them.

I would have loved to have had them for brothers.

Thank goodness they are my friends.