Brother

You know........[thinks]

yeah, it's ok, come closer..........that's better.........

You know, I was mulling over a few blogging ideas for today, bits of this, bits of that, perhaps a couple of Monday Memories.

Then, while cruising my blogroll, I made my usual first stop at Aginoth's blog (warning, he has disturbing photos on there today).

Let me tell you a little bit about Aginoth. He's a few years younger than me and we met at nursery school; him with Agi Jnr (then a baby) and me with Boo doing one of my taxi days for silentmum.
We chatted for a while, as parents/godparents do and I wandered off thinking, what a very nice young man.

Soon after we started emailing at work and home and he was made a Crazie (it's a painless ceremony, honest!). I met his lovely wife and they welcomed me into their already huge family. I was away when LMB was born, but was one of the first of the Crazies to see her. I was among the first to see LMD only days after her birth too.

I look after their children whenever they ask. It started as a vague offer and as time went on and the children grew to trust me I made the open-ended offer of free babysitting to help out - baby-sitters can cost a fortune just for a night out!
Actually, it's not free. It costs a bag of Flying Saucers (sherbert filled rice paper) for an evening. Two if it's a late one :-)

We holiday together, we play together, we cry together, we torment together. Aginoth and his family have been the family I lost at an early age to pride and prejudice.

One of the first things Aginoth did for me, which I rarely permitted in those days, was he gave me a 'Huggy Hug'. A big, enveloping hug. A hug which scared away all my demons of depression and self-loathing. Mrs A does a mean line in hugging too :-)

And now, my Aginoth, my brother in all but blood, is suffering and there is nothing I can do to help. I can email, I can blog and I can text. I can visit, but I know how he feels about how he looks. There is no magic wand I can wave to make him feel better. I can't even hug away his demons.

I love you Aginoth.

And I love Mrs Aginoth.

And I adore your children.

Here's to that phone ringing - even if it does lead to the windowless yellow room....and as before I will be there every day I can, boring the shirt off your back! I will bring you treats and sweets, books and dvds, sit with you and admire the nurses and dream of when we will have our next Huggy Hug.

craziequeen