Together again

One of the last things that Mom requested from her three sons, while she was lying on her deathbed in Wisconsin in 1991, was that the three boys stay in touch.

Promise me that.

It sounded simple, at first.

But the problem was that the three boys were scattered to the four winds. One of them, me, was in North Carolina. Another, Dave, was living in Alaska, where he would be for nearly 40 years. And the third, Scott, was trying out different states for size over the years, like Iowa, Tennessee and finally, Oklahoma.

And we were all living our lives. Time marched on, to the point where it seemed like it was running. We did stay in touch but we just never got together. Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.

Then life threw us an opportunity.

David, now living in Pennsylvania with Linda, was in Florida house/pet sitting for a friend of Linda's. Scott and his wife, Shelly, were headed east from Oklahoma on vacation. So here was the opening: Scott and Dave got on the phone and worked out a date when Dave would be returning to Pennsylvania, and wouldn't it be great if they could stop in Lexington, North Carolina, for a couple of days?

Of course it would.

So yesterday, Dave and Linda pulled up to our house around 5 p.m., weary but excited. Then Scott and Shelly rolled in sometime around 5:45, weary but excited. 

For the first time in more than 30 years the three brothers were together again.

Kim and I prepared for this moment days earlier, having made reservations at Yarborough's with a private room, just big enough for six people.

It was perfect. We told stories about each other that we never knew. You did what? They called the police? You nearly drowned? You got locked in the trunk of a car? Dad did what? Mom did what? So what medications are you on? Yeah, me, too.

Then, as the capper, Dave had his 70th birthday while in Florida. So we brought a birthday cake to the reunion as well, and thus we had a mini-party in the midst of the bigger party.

One of the small miracles here is that all three of the significant others – Kim, Linda and Shelly – seem to get along very well with each other and enjoy each other's company. Linda and Shelly, in fact, were meeting each other for the first time ever.

Two of the brothers have successfully made it into their 70s (I'm 73). All three have had successful careers. Two of us, Dave and Scott, are fathers, so we also celebrated Father's Day weekend.

This reunion continues today with very flexible plans that could change from moment to moment. It's OK. We're together again. They all leave tomorrow, to continue on with their lives.

There's a lot of best parts to this story, but the very best part is that we think we can see both Mom and Dad smiling at us with approval in our collective minds' eye.

 

The last time the three brothers (above) had their picture made together was 1987. Bruce and Scott are kneeling. Mom, Dave and Dad are behind them.

Then this (above) happened for the first time in more than 30 years yesterday.

Together again. Shelly, Scott and Dave are up front, while Kim, Bruce and Linda are in back.