My Journey With Health And Fitness – Happy Memories

I have a very fixed routine that I follow every day. I start with checking my Facebook memories to usually see where I was traveling because I did a lot of that when I worked. Today I saw the first post on my memories and immediately closed Facebook. Today is the day I have dreaded this entire trip. It was one year ago today that my little brother died in my arms. He was my best friend and losing him shook me to the core. I still, a year later, struggle with him not being with us. So much of my life had been about protecting him and taking care of him. Trust me I still get angry when people tell me he is in a better place because of all his health issues because to me the ‘better place’ would be still being with us.

We had long planned on doing something for my brother today. And so we have arranged for a group of our friends to do what we did a few days after we lost my brother, gather pool side and celebrate him. While we had planned on having Chinese food for dinner in his honour we learned that the place we order from in Playa is closed for staff vacation. Instead we have arranged for my brother’s favourite restaurant to deliver some pizza, also something he loved. Not to worry, good friends are going out with my sister and they will be having Chinese food.

I decided I have to choose between 2 paths today, being sad or being happy. I have opted to be happy and celebrate an incredibly kind human being. I am going to stick to happy memories and while out walking thought of some great ones that I plan to share at the pool party this afternoon. Like his 40th birthday where I surprised him with a trip to Reno but his friends had taken him out the night before and he was so hung over he didn’t even remember the flight getting there. Or our last trip to Reno which he had treated me with after settling Mom’s estate and how we had just an awesome time. How knowing how much seeing his stump disturbed me (only because it seeing it made me devasted at the fact he lost his leg) so when I walked into a room he would hold up his leg and waggle the stump at me. I’ll remember how hard he worked to recover from the amputation because he just wanted to come home. I will always think of the fact that if you were his friend he would lay his life down for you. And, I know everyone whose life he touched will remember him as a genuinely kind person despite what he went through in life.

Yes, there will be tears today, as a matter of fact there are some as I write this, but that is ok. What I hope for is that there will be more laughs as we toast him and think of happy memories. Just as we did when we celebrated him a year ago the Canadian Club will be flowing as will the tequila. But at the end of the day I hope he is looking down at us with his twisted grin toasting along with us.

Miss you lil’ bro’ but thanks for making my life better for having been your big sis’.