July 19, 2004: Mariah O'Brien

My Little Brother

I am the only person on that can call Burke my little brother. He only admitted this once in his life . Actually, I can not remember a time in my life when he was not around since we are so close in age. To me he was my partner. I walked through my life always knowing that I had him by my side and there to protect me. I felt safe when ever he was around. If ever I felt like the world did not make sense it all I had to do was make a call to him or yell downstairs and he was always there to straighten things out for me. He had a way of letting me know that everything made sense and everything would be OK. He could look at a situation with such a worldly manner and my issue would just vanish. He could turn my tears in to a smile almost instantly. All he had to do was walk in the room or answer the phone and I automatically felt better. He would flash his BIG smile at me and I knew I was safe. He would open his BIG arms for a hug and I knew I was loved. The world was not so scary then.
Whenever Burke would come home he would never tell anyone he was coming. He would surprise us as he pulled up with a friend he had gotten a ride with. His BIG Eyes glimmering as he made his way up the path to the door with a duffle bag. He was home. Sometimes I wish that he is still trying to pull a fast one on us and he is one day going to walk up the front walk with his BIG heart, his BIG hugs, and his BIG smile. Now that I think about it he was right. He was my BIG brother. He will always be my BIG brother and my protector. Now, he can look down on me from heaven and keep me safe. I guess he knew the truth all along.