A Friend Is A Brother Who Was Once A Bother

It is so amazing to me that this little blond headed cheesy grinned faced brother of mine, became this grown up handsome soldier.

It is no secret from those who have known my family since my brother and I were little that we were one of two things. Fighting with each other, or sleeping. Well, I take that back, we did play together a lot and had fun bugging mom and dad to death, but usually that playing ended up in one of us punching or biting the other. That best friend brother/sister combo was NEVER us, and to this day I don't know if we could go a week without "bickering" as my dad called it.
One thing is for certain though, I have always loved that little bother of a brother since the first day he came to our family. One of my earliest memories is standing in the little courtroom during his adoption trial and promising the judge I would love him forever. This promise still holds true, especially in the circumstances of this year.
That sweet brother of mine had his tonsils removed last Christmas, everything was as okay as it could be until he woke up coughing up blood. From what I have understood they didn't "burn" one of his arteries in his throat well enough when they finished removing his tonsils. I can't imagine what my family went through that morning. I received a phone call from my mom after it was all over and okay. She knows me too well. She knew I would get so worked up I wouldn't be able to function. They almost lost my sweet brother that morning but thanks to God and the hospital staff that kid is still here.
Those of you that know him know that he drove a car when he was a toddler, fell out of our three story house onto concrete, and got bit by various poisonous snakes and bugs. He has a track record and the events in January 2012 proved that God still wants him around for some reason.
Personally I think that reason is to bring joy to those around him (and possibly become president one day).
My brother has this amazing sense to become friends with anyone and everyone. He would always make friends with the other little kids in the campground on our family vacations, and to this day he will just yell at me and say "JUST GO MAKE FRIENDS KACIE IT'S NOT THAT HARD". We are two completely different people besides the matter of being extremely loud people, my poor parents adopted the two loudest kids there was to adopt I think. Although I am a loud person I clam up in group situations and become very shy. I blame this on having the same friends and living in the same town for 18 years. My brother on the other hand is the loudest person I know and for some reason one of the most respected people I know. He gets along with anyone and everyone. The teachers that hated me in school love my brother as if he was their own kid. It's hilarious for me to see them love them the way they do and have the memory of them screaming their heads off at me.
I will stop rambling now and get to the point. I love my brother so much even though as "grown ups" I've spent more time with my best friend Caleb than I have my "grown up" brother. Point being after almost losing him again in January I wanted anything for him besides him joining the military.

Disclaimer: I appreciate those who have or are serving in our military. I could never do it. I can't commit to one thing for that many years (besides my husband of course). I could never be away from my family for that long without contact. And I could never lay my life down for a stranger's freedom.  This is why our military are the most amazing humans on Earth.

That being said I still didn't like the thought of MY BROTHER possibly losing his life again. He has always talked back and forth about joining but changed his mine and followed another path. Well this time he did it, and he did it big. He signed up for 8 years against my petitioning against it. You'd think he'd of learned to listen to me by now. :)
 I cried randomly for weeks. I'd be sitting at a restaurant and just start crying. My husband began to grow weary of all this ridiculous emotion I was showing and finally had enough of it and said, "Kacie, there is nothing left you can do, he has signed up". That was what I needed to hear, the fact that no matter how much I cried this time, it was not going to change the situation.
I cried so much because THIS WAS MY BABY BROTHER. This is the little one that came to our family because God wanted him with us. This was the little brother who I could talk into jumping off the roof onto the trampoline, the brother that let my friends and I tie him up to a tree, the brother who played the groom and got married to my friends when we'd play wedding, the star football player, the comedian for anyone that needed it, the EMT who was determined to save lives. MY BROTHER is not supposed to purposely sign up for the military. NO! Only if there is a draft would MY BROTHER join the military.
Those thoughts that constantly ran through my head finally settled into my brain as a reality that I would have to grasp from now on.
Through the last couple of months he has been at his basic training. His letters have transformed my fears into pride. His transformation into a soldier and a stronger Christian make me cry for more reasons than my fear had me crying about. He is thriving in the military world, of course he has made new friends. He has a whole new look at the way God has things planned for him, and I couldn't be happier for him.
The world around us is scary and I know that the hopes of keeping him protected in America for the 8 years he serves are probably just another one of my dreams. I could not be more proud of him.
I feel like a mom trying to protect her baby. I cannot even imagine what my mom feels like. She wasn't as against it as I was in the beginning but still. To watch your son become a United States soldier must feel like some sort of accomplishment. That her and my dad raised such an outstanding son who was willing to give away years of his life to protect the freedom of the citizens of this nation.
WOW.
That is all I can say anymore. My little bother of a brother, has become an inspiring individual for me. In two weeks we will gather at his graduation from basic and I know I will be crying mostly from pride that he did it. Granted this is just a small milestone of what he will have to face in the coming years, but he did it. He stuck to his dream and he is accomplishing a big part of it.
This post is for you brother, although I would still prefer you living in a cave and being safe all the time I know this is not the will that God has planned for you. You are the most courageous person I know.
Love always,
your big mean sister