J ~ John

    My brother John was the closest in age to me.
    We got into a lot of things when we were little because of my "bright" ideas and his willingness to go along with them.
    Such as the day I thought it would be fun playing Santa Clause in the pile of cement chimney blocks that were stacked behind the barn. The descending the chimney worked out just fine, but then he was stuck and he had to stay trapped until I got Mom to the rescue.
    Then there was the day I came up with the brilliant idea to turn the bottom dresser drawer into a bench. He and one of my other brothers sat on it, which caused the dresser to tip trapping them underneath. 
    If I got a silly worry and started crying about something he'd howl right along with me. I wrote about one such occurrence here.
    As we grew older he became my sounding board. He was calm and level headed and would often talk sense into my latest whatever it was that I was stressing about.
    We still talk almost every week, even though he's still Amish and I'm not.  He never cut us out of his life like so many others did.
    I will always treasure the memories I have of growing up with him, and am so thankful John is my brother.