True Joy

I have three brothers. They are all amazing. One is Jon, who is 16.

Jon and I are in the middle, and we have definitely held onto each other and not taken the other for granted. When it got rough or tense in our family, we could goof off together. Laughter was used as therapy. I was playing a scene in my head today over and over.

Years back, we are both sitting in the back of our parent's car on the driveway of a family member's house. Our parents are inside, trying to help this family member. The situation was amazingly tense and stressful, and had been going on for years.

Jon and I were being quiet, listening to the car radio, which had been left on for us. It was playing oldies, and Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp started playing. The tune was catchy, and Jon is a huge fan of classic hits.

It was dusk. Tired from the long, exhausting day, and feeling rather punchy, we both start bobbin to the beat. Then, with a silent understanding that this moment is bigger and more important than this whole day has been, we spontaneously create a silly dance to this song.

Little did we know then that we were making history, our own history. That moment was not only bigger than that day, is was bigger than that whole, long season of our lives. It was then that Jon and I decided to have a good day, no matter what was going on around us.

Our parents soon got in the car tired and sad, and who could blame them.

On the other hand, Jon and I had experienced a shift in our moods. We had found joy in loving each other, and I can not think of a lot of happier moments, despite the stress of that day.