Happy Birthday Brandon

If you want to get in good with your mom, come into the world on Mother's Day after 2 hours of labor.  That's the first lesson we learn from Brandon.   Another lesson we learn from him is that  family is great.  He snuggled a lot as a baby.  One night as a 3 yr. old he cuddled up and said, "We love der chothers (each other) don't we?"  When he was older he made up games to play with his brothers.  There were long episodes with stuffed animals and legos.  The last time he came to visit he made a point to spend time with each person.  Gabe was happy that Brandon still likes long episodes with legos.  One night before I was supposed to have elementary school lunch with Brandon, he excitedly asked, "Are you getting ready for our lunch?"  The next day while we were playing tetherball on the playground, some friends wanted him to play.  He said, "I can't .  I'm playing with my mom right now.

Brandon teaches me to speak gently.  When he was about 11 he was already making plans for when he was a dad.  Jacob brought one of his shirts in for Eliza.  I said, "Put that back, Jacob."  Brandon added, "But thanks for offering." Another time I asked  Aaron if he had done something.  He said, "Yes."  I started giving him a lecture.  Brandon said, "Thanks for telling the truth." On one occasion when Brandon had dropped all his school stuff in the living room, I opened the basement door and yelled, "Brandon!"  He came running up. I started in, "You left your stuff all over the place."  He calmly replied, "Oh. I'm sorry.  I'll pick it up."  I was completely diffused.  His brother looked at me like, "What just happened?  How did mom stop yelling?"

The fourth lesson we learn from Brandon is play to win because winning matters.  We have some favorite "Brandon is competitive" stories.  There's a game the boys play.  I can't remember the name, but they all know what it is.  It was the night before Nathan was leaving to serve a mission in Brazil for two years.  Brandon and Nathan played the game and Nathan won.   Brandon acted like he was fine with it.  But...in the middle of the night...Brandon had been considering the consequences of Nathan having the win for 2 years. He crept into Nathan's room and said, "Nathan.  Wake up.  Do you want to play_____?" Unfortunately for Brandon, there was not to be a rematch for a long time.

 Brandon prided himself (did I say pride?) on being a good Stratego player.  He said, "I want to marry someone who can beat me in Stratego."  We thought he'd grow out of that criteria, but he didn't need to.  One night Mallory called and said, "Guess what?  I beat Brandon at Stratego."  There were smiles throughout the land.

The last lesson we learn from Brandon is to love God.  When he was very young he said,  "I'll never go to Satan.  I want to be with Jesus."  I believe him, and when I spend time with him and his beautiful family I think that's exactly where they'll be.