Brotherly Love

I'm sitting in the living room of my parents house. My brother is in town and it's a Wednesday morning. Normally Wednesday mornings consist of delivering my children to their respective child care and then heading home to work. I spend about 5 hours at the computer transcribing, blogging, video editing, etc. Then I head out to pick child up A, come home and await the arrival of child B. Wednesday's are not spent sitting around, drinking coffee, catching up with family. Few days are, unfortunately. But today is special. Today I've decided to postpone the work load for a few hours in order to just sit. Sit and love on my brother whom I get to see not nearly often enough.
Life is so much different than it was 10,12 years ago when we were both in high school, living at home, sharing a bathroom, and taking our time together for granted. I'm not missing those days but I greatly appreciate them. I enjoy where I am in life. I enjoy my husband and the commitment we have to one another in bad times and good. I enjoy my children and relish in the mundane day to day activities. I enjoy the grown up relationship I have with my parents. Yet I'm grateful that I can still "come home" when it's been a long week.
You couldn't have paid me to sit and chat deeply about religion, politics, and love with my either of my brothers when we were teenagers. This place we have come to, both individually and as siblings, amazes me in it's complexity and in it's simplicity.
He has this girlfriend, whom I adore. Being married at the ripe age of 21, long before either of my brothers were ever romantically involved with anyone, it's great to see that 7 years later they both are grown, both madly in love with amazing women, both living adult lives and finally being able to relate to me on that level.
We've all come a long way. I'm blessed, I realize that. So much of this blog centers around my adoration of my children, husband and family. But it's hard to focus on anything else when they are truly my life's biggest blessings.
I wish this amount of emotional respect and love on everyone. The chance to grow up with parents, siblings, a family that shows you love through their actions and through their words. What kind of world would this be if we spoke more love to one another? What would today's children be like if every parent turned off the tv, stopped folding laundry, and cooking dinner to hug their bored kid? What kind of world would this be if we made the effort to constantly tell each other how important they are to us.
I don't think I'd recognize this place if this is what it resembled. I suppose this must be what Heaven is like. A place, a feeling, a state of being drenched and cloaked in deep, meaningful, selfless love. At least, I sure hope it is.