A Thankful Sister

What am I most thankful for this holiday season? My brother! Many of you have been following the stories of the devastating fires across the United States. Two fires in particular hit very close to home for me. In my home state of Colorado, the Cameron Peak Fire and the East Troublesome fire raged simultaneously creating a very devastating threat to the tourist town of Estes Park, where my brother and his beautiful family live. While we watched the Cameron Peak fire closely, it was a much more deadly fire that was just on the horizon. The East Troublesome fire swooped in fast causing my family to have to evacuate quickly. Soon after, it was threatening their very neighborhood with emergency crews camped one block over!

Brother and family were now safely ensconced at his in laws house in Littleton. This is a place in which they have had to take refuge frequently over the last twenty or so years. They watched the news and the Estes Park website, where they were able to track the fires, emergency crews, and power shut offs. Power shut offs occur as a last resort when a threat to a house is imminent. Thankfully, the power was restored after a week. This was a good sign indeed. After nearly two and one half weeks, they were able to safely return home.

My brother is a talented artist who sells his work at the Estes Park Art Center. I knew he had worked extra long, hard hours for an upcoming art show in December that his artwork would be in. I couldn't help obsessing over that artwork during their evacuation, and imagining it in a pile of ash in the middle of their burned down home. I am thankful my brother, his family, and his artwork are all safe now.

This is not the first time my brother has been in danger. In the early 2000's, he was in a plane crash in which the co-pilot was killed and my brother suffered a life altering spinal chord injury. After five long hours of back surgery, the first thing he asks me is how did I do in summer school that semester. That is my brother! He always thinks of others first. Through grueling rehabilitation, he learned to walk again and leads a fulfilling life as a spinal chord survivor now .We got to know each other during those four months of rehab in ways we could have never dreamed possible. After rehab, he escaped to his in-laws for more healing before heading into an old world he needed to learn how to navigate in new ways.

A few years later a semi truck rear ended him on a dangerous stretch of Colorado highway. His specialty bike for spinal challenges didn't survive but he did. The driver lost his job. In 2013 he was air lifted off a mountain in Pinewood Springs where he lived at the time. He was helping a neighbor save his house during a devastating 100 year flood. His ATV rolled in the soft mud, pinning him and breaking his collarbone. His son was able to bail off the ATV just in time. As he was telling his mom about the accident, they heard a helicopter overhead. My nephew proceeded to tell his mom that the helicopter was his dad being airlifted off the mountain with an injury. An hour later the helicopter returned for the rest of the family so they could be together at the hospital. Once again, after his hospital stay, he escaped to the in-laws to heal and visit with concerned relatives.

At this point you are probably laughing at my brother's nine lives. Believe me we do! One year we gave him bubble wrap for Christmas. But in all seriousness, my brother has always been there for me through the good, bad, and ugly. He always knows just the right things to say when I need uplifting. During my divorce, he told me I was lucky because I get start over. During my parents crashing and burning at the same time of old age, he grabbed my face and said you are so strong Sister! On my next birthday after being diagnosed with neuropathy, he told me he was excited I had another year of living. When I need a gentle reality check, he tells me he is doing a rescue mission for me.

I am thankful for my brother. He is my biggest fan, cheerleader, and best friend. We laugh at all of each other's jokes when others roll their eyes. We are always on the same page when it comes to major decisions. We are each adopted with different birth moms. However, we could not be more alike. We call ourselves sibling soulmates or twins. I could not do this thing called life without him.