Everyone needs an Uncle Brad

I stood in the driveway watching them. Smiling. Conor grabbed the football and went running.

His elbows twisted across his body left and right until finally he was tackled to the ground...letting out a shriek of delight. Then, came a deep breath and a word only I could understand, "Rad!"

Then, it was Katie's turn. She strapped on her plastic skates over her sneakers, grabbed his hands, and closed her eyes as he began running backwards. Her feet unbalanced beneath her flew between his legs, and were stopped only by the grasp of his hands. She then let her body drop to the ground giggling. "Do it again, Uncle Brad!"

He calls her Gracie. And, after she was born, he gifted her with these.

His name is Con Con. And for Christmas, he was gifted with a bag full of Whoopie cushions and wax teeth.

It is a loving, admirable relationship. They want to sit next to him. They want to watch shows with him. They want to sleep in the same bed with him. In a compromise, we lined up little Kate's sleeping bed on the floor beside his bed, and she woke up smiling!

Then, on Halloween, they paraded him around the neighborhood, catching a lift every chance they could get. I don't believe he ever walked empty handed.

My brother has always meant the world to me, but seeing him through the eyes of our children is a whole different kind of special. It's pretty awesome.