Musical Love

My brother, Mark had a musical best
friend named Tom. In the 12th grade Mark moved into Tom's mom's home, a beautiful renovated barn. Tom held an aura of mystery in my young 15 year old eyes. I watched him play saxophone with passionate flourish which I'd never seen before. It helped that he was handsome and had a reckless, artsy personality. In contrast, Mark was, and remains a tad on the serious, studious side.
As a teenager, we had the usual brother-sister clashes and as the big brother, I felt that he received all the freedoms and perks. I stayed home and tended chores, homework and, as needed, my little sister who was ten years my junior and, to me, was always under foot.

I remember little about those days since I had a rebellious streak. I loved art, music and escaping outdoors to experience the lonely roads and woods around our rural home. I spent long hours alone or seeking out the few friends accessible in that quiet place.

Mark finished high school and worked for a local restaurant working as a chef. He visited on occasion with his high school sweetheart who he eventually married and still remains married to. For years we lost touch having never been close as teens, but as very young kids he looked after us both when mom suffered with severe depression. The word was she had post partum depression after I was born. I really don't know for sure.

A few years ago, Dad organized our first family reunion in the hills of Warren, Pennsylvania and my brother, sister and I all showed up to renew family bonds. Decades had passed where we were fragmented over three states.

The reunion was filled with reminiscing and music. My niece and nephew are quite musical and my neice brought along her musically talented boyfriend who she married last summer. We had campfire music and Mark brought homemade wine. We all meded this reunion, the first reunion since our mother tragically passed in 1997.

My siblings and I are now connected by a phone text chat where we text almost daily sharing our lives. It's a beautiful thing to reconnect and a funny thing how music is an important theme in all of our lives. Mom was a guitar player and somehow this seems perfectly fitting. There is so much beauty in family and music.

This was my Five minute freewrite using prompt saxophone
Add @mariannewest for daily freewrite prompts and @freewritehouse to participate in regular contests to win Steem Basic Income shares!

Src

Posted using Partiko Android