My brother visited a couple of days ago. He’s older, but only by 18 months or so. We both loathe talking on the telephone, as did our father and, at least to some extent, my sons. Consequently, we rarely talk. He lives out of state and travels overseas frequently. I… don’t (excepting my trips to the island place). We have sporadic email exchanges and talk face-to-face only once every few years.
He was telling a story about describing me to a friend of his who asked him “are you and your brother close?” and, without hesitation, he said “yes.” I would agree. I first noticed in the 1980’s when he had been living in Southeast Asia for a few years and I was in San Diego. He came for a visit after at least five years of not talking (and even overseas email wasn’t a trivial thing in those days). I was surprised at how quickly we picked up conversation as though little time had passed at all. It seems always thus.
I guess to a distant observer, we would appear to be estranged, but it feels like a close relationship. I suspect (or hope) that I can maintain a similar closeness with my sons as we become geographically separated.
—2p