Growing up it never occurred to me that there was something wrong with my brother. We played together with our bikes in the driveway. We watched "Barney" together. We begged our mom to get us ice cream. We fought. We got over it. As I grew older, I grew out of my training wheels and got a big girl bike. I stopped watching "Barney" and started watching "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Joe never did. He still used his training wheels and still watched "Barney." His developmental delays, due to a heart condition, became more apparent to me. Although there was a lot I had to teach and reinforce to Joe, he taught me some of the most valuable lessons of all.
Every night before my brother goes to bed he comes into my bedroom, tells me good night and that he loves me. Through my teenage years, this would seem annoying or unnecessary to me, and I would often scold him for interrupting what I was doing. Recently, I have begun to appreciate this small gesture and have realized how important it really is. Life gets busy and often times we get so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget to tell the ones we love how we feel about them. Everything can change in an instant which makes it important to tell the ones who matter that we love them every chance we get.
Every time we go somewhere with my brother, he always engages in conversation with anyone around him. Although we tell him time and time again to not talk to strangers, he still manages to make a friend wherever and with whomever. Whether it is with the sketchy guy at the gas station or our hot waiter at a restaurant, he manages to strike up a conversation. Through these interactions, I have learned to see the good in people and to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
From the time he wakes up at the crack of dawn, to the time he goes to sleep, my brother always has a smile across his face. He radiates positivity and rays of happiness that I so often need. Everyone has hard days, and it is impossible to be happy all the time, but having such a positive person in your life helps lighten the mood. Joe teaches me to always keep a smile on my face even during the hardest days because by remaining positive you can overcome anything.
Although Joe has a lot of hurdles to jump through on a daily basis and needs help with simple tasks like tying his shoes or cutting his food, he is always the first one to lend a hand if someone else needs help. Whenever my mom needs someone to walk the dog or set the table, my brother is always the first to jump up and help, while my sister and I sit on the couch. When he sees my grandmother struggling to walk up the steps, he is the first one to go help her while my cousins who are twice his age do nothing. Joe, just like all of us, needs help every once in a while, but he reminds me that it is important to help out when you have the chance to.
My brother is rarely stressed. He always has faith that everything is going to work out. Although he may not have the same equivalence of stress as I do, he still manages to keep a level head when things do not turn out in his favor. I have often stayed up way into the night stressing over an assignment or a test I had to study for. My brother always comes in my room and tells me to go to sleep and work on it tomorrow. He always believes everything is going to work out in the end and it always does.
