| and now something totally unrelated to poop |
Today is my little brother Steven's birthday. The kids are in bed, the groceries put away, the house moderately tidied and I can now sit down and write a few thoughts in honor of Steeb, as the twins call him.
I thought I'd gather up some pictures from us growing up - but my photo albums are in Eva's room and I am not going to dig around and risk waking her. So there will just be some recent shots.
Things I remember about Steven:
First memories: Mom had just come home with him from the hospital and was changing his diaper. There was mustardy poop (whoops, there is poop in this post afterall) all the way down his leg. I, three and a half at the time, declared, "I hope he never does that again!" I also remember meeting him at the hospital and thinking that his eyes were stuck shut like kittens are when they are born. In retrospect he must've been sleeping or maybe his eyes were kind of stuck shut from eye mucous or something. Anyways, I for quite a while, thought that all babies had their eyes shut for a bit after being born.
Growing up: Steven was (and is) very rambunctious. I took it upon myself to keep him in line, like any good mother would...except I wasn't his mother. I heard, "Aimee you are not his mother" a lot. Eventually he started saying it to me himself... In a completely uncharacteristic and unmotherly move I once bit Steven on the nose. It was Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma Wellunschegs. We were face to face arguing about something and I got so mad I just bit his nose since it was right in front of me. He of course was hurt and started to get upset. I was mortifyingly embarrassed and somehow managed to convince him to be quiet and not tell anyone - I have no idea how I did this, maybe I bribed him. I remember knowing that I was WAY to old to be acting like that, 11 or 12 maybe...
Highschool: We got to share one year of highschool together and I'm so glad we did. I was so proud of Steven. He was so free to be his own person. Dressing crazy - polyester pants before other people were catching on that this was cool. Glasses without lenses (well I thought that was cool as you already know). He was very kind. We were involved in the SALT (student action leadership team) together. He was a great leader.
Things I learned more about after the fact: The wild adventures of his group of friends. Taping eggs to string and hanging them over powerlines so they'd smash into car windshields. Throwing things off freeway overpasses- yikes... The depth of care that he expressed (and continues to express) for friends in difficult situations - family trouble, drugs, mental illness.
Things I really like about Steven - he loves me and tells me that every time we talk. He is VERY funny - witty, impersonations, you name it he does it - But his "mentally challenged" character always worries me. I have, on more than one occasion - in keeping with the mothering theme - insisted that Steven remain in character until we are through the drive-thru or out of the store. I worry that if he returns to real Steven then people will think that he is mocking people with disabilities when this is not actually the case at all. He's so good at it, that if he stays in character people will never know he's not that way. He is friendly. He loves my husband and my kids. He is deeply compassionate and has a soft heart (can you say that about guys, well, the soft heart is in a very manly exterior). He likes to have fun. He is exuberant and attacks his areas of passion with zest. He is an excellent musician and engineer/producer. He thinks outside of the box and gets to where he wants to be by following a different route than most of the world. Steven is honest. Steven is a great photographer.
So there you have it, a few thoughts about my 24 year old brother. I love you Steve.
ps. And I ask you readers, what do you like about Steven, any crazy memories? |
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My favorite Steven memory is when he and Zoe and I went and bought inflatable animals from Superstore and took them to swim in a lake in Mission. I swam across the lake and on my way back I got a cramp in my foot. I wasn't in realy distress, but I was a bit nervous so I called out to Steven that I had a cramp and he swam SO FAST with an inflatable animal to my rescue, calling "are you okay?" over and over...it really touched me. I love Steven's sense of humour and his great care for people.
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posted by Aimee at 
My favorite Steven memory is when he and Zoe and I went and bought inflatable animals from Superstore and took them to swim in a lake in Mission. I swam across the lake and on my way back I got a cramp in my foot. I wasn't in realy distress, but I was a bit nervous so I called out to Steven that I had a cramp and he swam SO FAST with an inflatable animal to my rescue, calling "are you okay?" over and over...it really touched me. I love Steven's sense of humour and his great care for people.