Brothers

On Seth's birthday earlier this year.

I remember the day Seth was born, and Josh ran up and down the halls at the hospital trying to get people to "come see my baby." Who knew that 16 years later, he would be helping take care of a very sick little brother? Through a strange set of circumstances, Josh didn't return to college this fall. He stayed home to work and regroup before going back to school. Little did we know how much we would need him. The week before Seth went to the hospital, Josh was his main caretaker. Jason and I were in our all-important staff development week preparing to return to school. So Josh tended to Seth. Thursday, the last day before diagnosis, was really hard for Josh. He could feel his brother wasting away. He later told me that once Seth was in the hospital, he quit worrying. He knew Seth would be ok. As hard as it is to watch your child when he is ill, it is also hard to watch your other child caring for their sick sibling.
Josh being home during this time has had another positive effect for Seth. You see, at 16, Seth has become pretty independent. That is our job as parents....to produce independent young adults. At diagnosis, I felt that independence slipping away. Enter Josh. Big brother can "hang out" where parents really can't. We would have never asked Josh to stay home to help us. God provided in a very strange way for things we didn't even know we needed.
Josh will leave again for college, probably next fall. That's the way it should be, and I'm excited about his future. But for now, it's nice having the brothers together again.