The Perils of Distance
My sister-in-law Emily was in town this weekend for Stephen’s Eagle ceremony, lots of pictures for my Mom and (of course) to see her husband, my brother (they’d not seen one another since March). I always enjoy spending time with her, but this time it occurred to me that we’ve not spent three days’ worth of time together: in many ways she’s really a stranger. I like her, of course—but it’s a kind of associative liking through Thomas, in the same manner that one likes one’s buddy’s friends because, even though they are unknown to one, they must be cool if one’s friend likes them.
I have every expectation that if we did know one another well that we’d get along famously, and indeed when our paths have cross such has been the case. But it’d be so great if Tom & Em were here in Denver and we had dinner or drinks at least once a month.
For that matter, I hardly know my own brother; it’s been almost a decade since we’ve spent a great deal of time with one another. We’re family, of course, and that means that I don’t feel like a left-behind childhood friend or anything like that—but we each are that in a small way to each other. We grew up together once, but we no longer do.
Of course, no-one can know what the future might bring. Thomas & Emily might end up in Colorado; for that matter, I might end up in California. And of course there are my other two brothers to consider. All in all, the odds of the four of us living in the same state again are pretty slim.
