Thursday, September 08, 2005
EARLY DECEMBER....1996
We had a few quality days with Don and Sally and then it was time for them to go home to Walla Walla. You can imagine how hard it was for Don to tell Bear “goodbye”……he was the baby and when Bear left us he would be the last of their family. I know how he felt, I think. I lost dad, then my brother Louis and finally mom. I wasn’t prepared for the feelings of loss………and feeling so alone. Don was born when Bear was 10 years old. Their father died in a farm accident and so Don only had Bear as a male influence.
From the stories they revisited during the times they were together, I often heard how Bear took advantage of his little brother at every opportunity. He was a typical “big brother” in every way but still……an important part of Don’s young life. Don told how terribly lonesome he was after Bear joined the Navy. It came as a surprise to Bear who never realized it had affected Don at all. Don was only 7 when Bear left……and from then on they had very little “home time” together. In many ways they didn’t really know the deeper side of each other at all.
The few days they had before that last goodbye filled a large void for both of them. They discussed things never understood when growing up….why certain decisions were made in the family and all. Don knew very little about the Kings and the Rosenbaums but with Bear’s wonderful memory and chronological thinking, he could fill in a lot of empty spaces. Even on a more personal note…….why they each grew into the people they had become. Bear was a hawk. Born to be in the Military….Don grew up a dove. He was very much into the church family and his life centered around that and his mother after their sister, Delores, married. There is a great need for hawks and for doves…….and both men had filled their callings.
After their car drove out of sight we were alone for the first time since coming home from the hospital. It was time to draw a big breath and work into a schedule. From that moment on my focus was on Bear. He would have my every concern and the best care I could give him. I was so thankful for the time we would have before he had to go. So many don’t have those precious days and I was grateful to be the one to see Bear safely ‘home.’
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
From the stories they revisited during the times they were together, I often heard how Bear took advantage of his little brother at every opportunity. He was a typical “big brother” in every way but still……an important part of Don’s young life. Don told how terribly lonesome he was after Bear joined the Navy. It came as a surprise to Bear who never realized it had affected Don at all. Don was only 7 when Bear left……and from then on they had very little “home time” together. In many ways they didn’t really know the deeper side of each other at all.
The few days they had before that last goodbye filled a large void for both of them. They discussed things never understood when growing up….why certain decisions were made in the family and all. Don knew very little about the Kings and the Rosenbaums but with Bear’s wonderful memory and chronological thinking, he could fill in a lot of empty spaces. Even on a more personal note…….why they each grew into the people they had become. Bear was a hawk. Born to be in the Military….Don grew up a dove. He was very much into the church family and his life centered around that and his mother after their sister, Delores, married. There is a great need for hawks and for doves…….and both men had filled their callings.
After their car drove out of sight we were alone for the first time since coming home from the hospital. It was time to draw a big breath and work into a schedule. From that moment on my focus was on Bear. He would have my every concern and the best care I could give him. I was so thankful for the time we would have before he had to go. So many don’t have those precious days and I was grateful to be the one to see Bear safely ‘home.’
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
