sadsis

Oz, We both have mountains to climb in memory of our brothers! Well said. All, thank you for posting your thoughts. It's so helpful to have this forum and not to be alone in this.

Oz - I love that pic! Your brother looked so happy and alive. One funny thing that I found out about my brother was that he had just started motorcycling in the last year. His buddy said that he was eyeing his first motorcycle and gotten approval from his wife to buy it. I'm glad I never found out because my mother and I are both worrywarts (he used to call me his 2nd mother). One thing that I'm learning from my brother's untimely passing is that it is important to keep sight of joy. I'm so glad my brother had his hobbies and was able to mountain climb and motorcycle despite my mother and me. I had gotten so weighed down by work and motherhood and have been losing sight of it. Now I will need to find a way to incorporate my brother's memory into that goal.

Dear Oz, I am so sorry about your brother. I lost my younger brother about a month before you lost yours (Feb 10). He was 40 years old. I still cycle through shock, anger and sadness on an almost hourly basis. My brother was a bit like yours - he liked to motorcycle and be outdoors (loved climbing), and was kind and generous, the heart of our little family - he was my only sibling. I have to work too, and I wonder if the hardest part about it, now that it's about 2 months out, is trying to act normal and professional to colleagues and acquaintances on top of the already exhausting sadness. It's so draining.