Becoming a responsible, for-real adult is kind of like learning how to ride a bicycle: All of a sudden, you look around, and there’s no one holding onto the back of your seat. The first time I noticed that I was pedaling on my own was when my dad got sick after college. My mom can’t handle stress (to put it mildly), so I took time off of work to help keep them afloat. It felt like life fast-forwarded a decade when I signed the paperwork for my dad’s medical guardianship. That’s the moment I realized that my brother and I were the only ones helming this ship, and that our parents needed us to get by. Over the years, Tim and I have done our best to care for them, and, as countless others already know, it can be super-stressful at times. But, as I was sitting at home over the holidays, watching my able brother help fix their car, plumbing, light fixture, and medications, a huge wave of gratitude crashed over me. There’s no other person in the world I’d rather be in this boat with than Tim. He’s the calm in a storm, the quiet but hilarious comment, the helping hand you didn’t even realize that you needed. I’m lucky that he’s my brother.
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