My brother, the stranger

Back in June, my little brother got in touch with me. He was leaving for the military in September, and wanted to see my sisters and I before he left. He's 25 now, the last time I saw him he was 16. We didn't grow up together, we don't really know each other. All we had in common was our DNA. It was funny, though. When he got here, it wasn't all that weird or awkward. We had a great visit, and we planned to come to their house in Tuscaloosa as soon as we could. We ended up visiting a few weekends ago, and had another great visit.

My brother and I sat on his patio for over 5 hours, talking until the wee hours of the morning. We got to know each other, told stories from our childhoods (how weird is it that you have to share stories of growing up with your sibling?), and talked about our parents. We laughed, and we cried. A lot.

He left for the military this morning. I'm worried about him, and I'm kind of angry. I don't feel like I had enough time with him before he left. I know he won't be gone forever, but he won't be in touch until around Christmas time. After that, who knows. The closest he may be stationed to us is a 7+ hour drive, or he could be as far away as overseas. I still don't know him. I feel we're on our way to having a good relationship, but it's still weird sometimes. I don't feel as completely comfortable with him as I do my sisters. We don't have childhood memories in common. He was so young when our parents split, that he doesn't remember much from when we all lived together. It's the small things that bring it home to me how much we don't know about each other. I don't know if something I say might offend him. I don't know if, when we get off the phone, I should say 'I love you', or if it makes him uncomfortable. And I don't feel comfortable enough to just ask him, like I would my sisters.

I miss him already, and I just hope he stays safe. It's hard enough staying in touch with a sibling when you've grown up together, but it's doubly hard for us. Not only are we trying to stay in touch as brother and sister, we're still trying to get to know each other as brother and sister.