Will the circle be unbroken?

Reunions. A few weeks ago the Bison was talking to me about a lost (step, then adopted, and then un-adopted) brother he had been thinking about. The boys were almost the same age and were raised as brothers for several years then separated when the parents divorced. They were a wild little pair and fun to watch. He was wishing to see him again. I said I would see what I could do. With a little help from that place that registers school members for free I found him.

I think it rushed him out a little. I was an Aunt to him for only a few years and we didn't see a lot of them as they lived north quite aways from us. When I dropped him a note with the contact info for his brother he wrote back and told me he was headed this way in a few weeks and would be in touch.

They have had a couple meetings now and are still getting caught up with each other. Last night the Lost Boy and his new girl came over to see me and the Bison. If I shaved them both and put them in blue jeans with striped shirts you wouldn't know they ever grew up! They both have their same faces and builds with only some size variations to show the years.

I left work early yesterday, I really didn't feel well. I was tired and achy with an upset stomach. I still needed guttering and the cash was going fast so I made myself go to town and get it. It took about an hour to go through the list and get it all. My very nice young man that helped me out with it stuck with me right through getting it loaded on the truck.

I got home and we started the garage swap. I wanted my bike on the nice, new cement that was level with the driveway now. That meant clearing away the pile we had made making room to work on the floor and getting the mower turned around. I wanted the mower and the bike to be able to get in and out easily.

We were getting hot and dusty, the truck was full of guttering, the Lost Boy and the furnace man were coming and I wanted a shower. I left the nephew with instructions and went to sluice off. LB and his girl got there just as I was buttoning my shirt and the furnace man got there right on top of him. I came out to see the new furnace almost to the bottom of the stairs.

I greeted the Lost Boy and his friend, called down to see what was needed and found out that there was water in the basement. WELL DUH! The guys had pulled the sump pump to finish around the drain area. It rained very heavily the night before. I asked Bison if he could put the sump back but it was the Lost Boy who said he just put one in for his dad last week. I sent him off with a screwdriver to reseat the pump while Bison and the furnace guy placed the new heater on the beautiful new floor.

Then the guys worked in the garage, the girl petted His Highness, King of Cats and I went in to put the beans on and spice them up. We were having burritos. She didn't eat any meat but chicken so I grabbed two frozen breasts, a covered casserole dish and tossed them in the nuke. The B1son had made the meat and cut up the lettuce and tomato earlier, bless him, so I only had to get everything out and grab the salsa to be ready. When I went out to call them the garage almost looked like a real garage again! Wow!

I went back inside to grab the keys and move the bike to it's new and improved parking space. No more "heave ho, me hearties" to get it over the two by fours! Hooray! I told the boy he done good and we went back in to feed our guests. The girl was cubing her chicken breasts and Lost Boy was getting a beverage. We got our plates loaded and sat at the table to eat.

It was a lot of fun listening to them still getting caught up with each other. I didn't say much except to egg them on with their memories. We looked at photos of the first bike they learned to ride, which was the one the mate and I taught our kids on and that the First Girl taught her boys on and B2 taught his kids on and that is now at my sister's place so Cgirl can learn this year. It's had some parts changed and the engine rebuilt once or twice but it's the same bike for going on three generations. For those of you that might care, it is a 125 Honda, probably an early 70's model. It works just like any "real" motorcycle but it's much lighter and smaller. It can also be street legal and ridden on the highways. It's a perfect learning bike.

B1son and B2boy (Lost Boy's right nick) were telling horror stories of racing it and the other one their dad, Bro1, picked up for them. They had 20 acres and a lot of it was field converted to track for racing what ever was the current vehicle of choice. Then it was the bikes, later it was quads and now it is RC Trucks.

B1son, quietly and without being asked, cleaned up dinner while we continued to chat. I was proud of him, his Uncle would have done the same. Then I got to thinking. His uncle would have done the same as I used to do before all the health troubles. I am getting better all the time. I need to be getting back to that - showing I care with my actions, not just words or money. Showing you care lasts longer than words and longer than money and it teaches others how to show they care so it goes on to the next generation. I better get back to it. Yup!

We all went up and shot some pool after dinner. B2boy shoots a good stick, B1son is working on it. The girl watched but was a little bored I think. When she ran down for a trip to the loo and B1son went to show her the way and get me a fresh lemonade B2boy let me know that he was pretty serious about this one and asked my opinion. I told him it was too soon to tell but that when a girl showed up when you were unemployed (he just moved back here from the East Coast), broke and your car didn't run it could only be two things, hot sex or true love. He blushed nicely and said he had sent for the ring he wanted to give if it worked out already. I guess it's love! LOL!

When we finally broke up the party and sent them on their way it was midnight. I guess they made it home ok. It was their first trip here and I thought they might get lost.

The furnace is in the basement, the new water heater is in the garage and the sump works with the new floor. It's coming together.

B1son has his brother back and they both thanked me for getting them in touch. I have yet another nephew to be a help and a joy to me.

Divorce is so hard on the kids. These boys have both built up a lot of anger issues. Their idea of fun is underground Fight Club nights. Guys get together in a remote location and "box" or bare knuckle until first blood or a knock out. Girls their age are cutting themselves and bleeding out their pain.

I hope the gen we raised has the sense to make marriage a contract to stay together until the kids are grown with a re-up clause after 19 years instead of this quitting in the middle on the kids, like my gen did to ours.

We didn't understand, at our too young ages, how badly it hurts the little ones when they lose a parent or get a new and not a better one, sometimes as many as three or four times. We just bopped on down the road, looking for what we needed and not considering fully enough what our children needed. It left them sad and hurt and afraid to love or angry with no where to unleash that anger except against themselves. It bothers me still. I can't change the past but I can help the new gen work on their future. One complete family at a time I can try to help them keep loving each other and their children. I just have to keep on telling them why it's important.

These are good kids and they are both looking to the service. I don't want them to come home in a box but I don't want them afraid to serve their country because they might. I want them to consider what they are joining up for and decide to do it because it is right for them. We are still working on that. I have promised to back them up and be there for them if they go.

I guess that means I have commitments to people in the future. I think that means I am looking more ahead than behind. I still turn and reach for the mate every day in the night, for his counsel, his comfort and his love, but I am going forward on my own, taking care of the kids, like we promised each other we would. "Take care of the kids and the pets and never forget I love you. Find someone to care about you again, don't hurt alone. I want you to be happy." We had those words between us. I hold tight to them on the bad days.

I love our kids and their kids and the other kids in the families, like the two nephews that I thought I was doing a favor by getting them back together, but they fixed the garage and the sump last night for me. I think they love me back. So the mate's love for me goes on another gen. His pride in his abilities and his pride in his service to the country he grew up in is already passed on through B2jewel and again through B1son and B1boy if they make it through their training. His love still shows through me if I remember to show it, not just say it.