#140 - My Brother is Awesome

A few weeks ago, my brother moved from Queens NY to a small town much nearer to us.  I expected it would be nice to have him closer.  I did not think it would be as cool as it has been.

I helped him move in, and he took a week or two to get settled.  Then he invited us over for dinner.  We had homemade chili and gluten-free cornbread.  The kids hung out, we played Ticket to Ride, ate ice cream.  It was nice.  We hadn't really figured out the whole entertainment thing - the boys didn't want to play the game, and there wasn't much for them to do.

Last weekend, we hiked Mt Beacon.  It was super fun.  Aria didn't want to go, but we had the other 3 kids, and we had a great time.  2 miles of hiking, beautiful views; the outdoors is such a relief from the concrete we used to live in.  At the top of the mountain, we turned around and headed back to the car.  He continued on a hike and camped for the night.

He started to give Aria guitar lessons, and that's been going on for a few weeks now.  She is practicing, and using one of his acoustic guitars. He was going to sell it, but didn't/couldn't, so she's using it now as a loaner. Libby had fun playing his electric guitar, and decided that's what she wanted to do.  So we went looking for electrics and found a mini Stratocaster for her for a decent price.  She was willing to pay for half of it, so I put it in my Amazon cart.  On Monday, my brother found one on Craigslist that included an amp and tuner for just a few dollars more.   So I picked that up on Tuesday.

Last night was dinner at his house/guitar lesson night.  He grilled burgers, roasted some potatoes (not quite fries, but close), and we took over strawberries and a homemade shortcake.  Dinner was nice, and then it was guitar time.  He had purchased new strings for Libby's guitar, so he sat down and worked on it for half an hour, telling her how it worked and trying to make it better for her.  He had asked me for some birthday ideas for Jake.  I had given him some gift ideas, and also suggested that he take Jake out for some 1:1 time.  He asked Jake if he'd like that, and Jake was totally on board.  Then Libby got her first lesson.  Basic, simple, took about 10 minutes, and it was about all she was ready for.

Then we put on Return of the Jedi, and he gave Aria her lesson.  Hers took about half an hour.  He had bought capos for both of them, and a lesson book for Aria.  Then we all snuggled on his couch and loveseat and watched the movie and made fun of it at the same time.

It was the most relaxed I have ever been in a home that wasn't mine.  He's so good with the kids, and they really love him.  And I really appreciate his service to them, both as an uncle and a guitar teacher.  And I am jealous of the bond that they will have with their uncle.  He's going to be a very special person to them for the rest of their lives.  Which truly is beyond priceless.  We're very very blessed.