Mar 14 2010
Rob
Well, I still got up at 6 this morning (now the new 7). This is turning into a bad habit.
I went to bed around midnight and woke up at 5 with my heart pounding after a nightmare. I dreamed that I heard a big truck coming down the narrow, rutted dirt driveway. I looked down from my balcony door and it was Rob, driving a bunch of old wood and my brother’s ancient, enormous pick-up truck on a flatbed. I ran downstairs and by the time I got there, the wood had somehow fallen off the truck and pinned Rob to the ground (even though, you know, he had been driving the truck).
My brother and sister warned me away from touching him, and the ambulance appeared like magic. Megan said that they do that for family and friends.
As we waited at the hospital, there was a strong earthquake and everything went black.
I woke up.
I lay there for a while, trying to sort out what was real and what wasn’t. I felt like going over there to see if Rob was OK, though undoubtedly my concern would not have been appreciated at that hour. I got up and checked the official page for earthquakes, and the most recent was in SoCal sometime yesterday. it sure felt real in the dream, though.
It was hard to get back to sleep after that, so even getting up at 6 is something of a personal triumph.
As I lay in bed, I thought about how dear Rob has become to me since I moved up here. He and my sister have been married for 19 years this summer, and he has been our brother’s best friend since they were nine years old, so I’ve known him most of my life. But spending more time with him has made me appreciate him more.
It’s not just that he fixes things for me, or that I come home sometimes to find that he’s taken my trash to the dump or is putting up curtains for me. It’s his kindness and gentleness and loving nature that somehow survived his parents’ complete lack of affection. It’s his courage and refusal to feel sorry for himself, despite his many health problems and constant pain. It’s his intelligence and ready wit and sense of humor.
It’s Rob. My other little brother.