Thursday, July 10, 2008

Making It Up to Ben

As I was writing the Little Brother Chronicles, I know it appeared I was picking on Ben. : )

(In case you missed it, the Saga of the Moon Boot was the overwhelming favorite.)

After sharing all of those embarrassing moments with you all, I promised I would make it up to him. I promised I had a purpose for it all. : )

So in this last installment of the Little Brother Chronicles, I hope it will be abundantly clear how much I love you, Ben, and how proud I am to be your big sister. : )

There are more funny stories to tell, like the time my mom got a phone call from the local grocery store:

"Sally, this is Carol down at Evans Foods. I was just wondering if you were aware that Ben was down here trying to buy a can of spinach?"

(Mom thought he was playing at his friend, Adam's, house so this was news to her)

"Well, he doesn't have any money on him, but we can credit it to you if you really need the spinach." (Aren't small towns great?)

We later learned he needed spinach to be strong "like Popeye" so going to the grocery store to get it made sense to him. : )


Then there is the disaster he made of my Barbie's wedding! For months I planned Barbie's wedding, saving my allowance to buy the wedding dress and the furniture I needed to set the scene. All I asked Ben to do was walk Ken down the aisle and hold him up during the ceremony. Easy right? But no, Ben made peeing noises and made sure Ken urinated on all of the guests as he walked up the aisle! The ceremony was all down hill after that entrance!


Or, I could tell of the one and only time he tried to beat me up after watching Disney's Last Electric Knight.

But instead of more silly stories, I want to focus on the man he has become.

As we were growing up, Ben was my best buddy. We actually liked each other and had so much fun together. We moved a lot during some critical stages of growing up, and we leaned on each other throughout those times of adjustment.

Having different talents and interests, I'm thankful we were supportive of each other instead of competitive. I loved watching him excel at sports. I never missed a game! When he was pitching, I thought I'd have a heart attack from the stress of it all, but he was really good and it was fun to cheer him on. He was a football star, too. I can still see the game he had five different opponents hanging on him, trying to pull him down, but he wouldn't give up and drug all five in to the end zone with him for a touchdown.

When I was a Senior and Ben was a Freshmen, we were in high school together. Whenever I stopped by my locker, I had to keep an eye out for Ben because he liked to sneak up on me and carry me down the hallway like a sack of potatoes. He was still my younger brother, but he had ceased to be my "little" brother. : )

I'll never forget the day in high school when we sat in a Dairy Queen booth drinking milkshakes and asking each other how we got so lucky to have such a great family life. We've always known we were blessed.

Today, my little brother is a husband, a father, and a successful computer programmer. He married a great girl who became a great mother and wife. I'm just so proud of him and so in love with his kids and his wife, Angie.

He loves Jesus and is raising his kids to love Him, too. He is a man of God. The same kind of man I want my son to be someday.

When I think about a little brother, there is one image that comes to my mind.

I'm such a sentimental sap, I have tears running down my face as I type the end of this post.

I wanted you all to "know" my brother Ben so you would understand when I make this next announcement.

So now the moment you've all been waiting for....(At least Mia has been waiting) : )

Our little Monster Truck has a real name.

From now on, he is Benjamin, in honor of the best brother in the whole universe!

I love you, Ben!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Monster Truck is very lucky to have such a thoughtful Mom and an outstanding Uncle for his namesake. I love you both--Mom

Anonymous said...

What an incredibly sweet post and such an honor to name your baby after your brother. I loved reading about the bond of friendship between you and your brother. I too am very close to my little brother and I pray daily that my son and my girls will grow up being best friends. Right now my 4 year old son and my 2 year old daughter share a room and really are great buddies.

Unknown said...

Congratulations on a great name, and someone for little Benjamin to look up to!

That's so sweet.

The Jernigan Family said...

Yippee! Oh Becky how I have loved reading your chronicals and remembering growing up with you guys, I always remembered how close you two were, not like typical brothers and sisters of such close age. I will always remember watching you guys swing dance at stampeed and wishing I had a brother to teach me those things. I got goose bumps when I read what you are going to name your son, what a huge honor. You are such a great sister! Have you always known this was the name you would choose, how and when did it come to you? Ben and Benjamin are lucky to have you in their lives. Love you and can't wait to meet baby Ben!

Anonymous said...

What!!! Don't you think you should have consulted me before making this decision?? ---- Just kidding :) You forgot to tell everyone that I get the "Honorable Mention" middle name prize!

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah, got me crying too. That is so sweet, naming your little boy after your brother.

But I think I'm going to have a hard time learning to think of him as Ben instead of Monster Truck.

From Five to Eight said...

Becky,
that is so so sweet! What a gift of love you both have. How often we forget to express it to each other...or take it for granted. Thanks for reminding me of that..and to send a quick e-mail to both my brothers (far away :0)
just to say "I love you!".
Teresa

Sonya Lee Thompson said...

Oh Becky,

Thank you for sharing this story behind the name with us. How touching and sweet. You have picked the perfect name. I too had a brother, but we have never been close. I always longed for a brother like your Ben. I'm so glad you have had such a priviledge.

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

jan said...

This was such an enjoyable post! I'll have to come back when I have more time and read the "chronicles". :-)
My big brothers were Pills!

Anonymous said...

I don't have any siblings. My girls only have each other. No brothers EVER in the picture.

You are blessed with a brother and a son!!!

This post made me cry. So sweet, so real. It's nice to know that there are real and wonderful relationships between siblings going on, I'm hoping my girls will be very close when they are adults.

Kim said...

Becky,

This makes me think of when we did foster care and had a little girl be part of our family for 5 months. We were told to name her so we named her Elizabeth. Three months into our time with her, we thought we could adopt her. We proceeded down that road only to find out 2 months later that we could not. I cried and cried the day the new adoptive family came for their first visit. I cried even harder the day they took her to their home for good. I had lost my "Elizabeth". Three months later I found out I was pregnant (we had been trying for almost a year). After 3 boys, we finally got our girl. We didn't know what to name her. We didn't want people to think we were replacing what we had lost. Finally Dale said, her name is Elizabeth. We have always loved the name. 8 years later now, I cannot imagine her with any other name. I am so glad you will have your Benjamin...the one God meant for you to have! I look forward to the day when you announce the name of the next boy to join your family! Sorry this is so long.
Kim

missy said...

Oh, gee thanks. Now you've got me crying too. That is the sweetest tribute to a brother I have ever heard. He must feel so blessed and proud. I am going to miss "monster truck" a little bit though.

Love,
Missy

Katy said...

Thanks for making me cry! LOL I don't think it was pregnancy hormones either! I love how you can write down your memories so well! I have such fond memories of you guys in Prosser! I wish you never had to move away, but then again, you wouldn't have the same stories would you? Love you! Can't wait to meet Benjamin!

Anonymous said...

I learn more of the depth of the question my father praised God with so often every time I think of you and Ben..."Who am I that God would bless me so much?"

Though you missed some "specific details" in the stories you told, the heart of them is true. There is one story about Ben, recently made, that you need to know because it testifys to the truth of his heart and yours. I want to share it with all who care here.

Ben discovered your decision to name our grandson Benjamin here at my computer because I told him he needed to read your blog, there was something he would want to see. As he read each story in order, I watched him closely, laughing as he relived all of those great times. Periodically, he would stop and add details from his perspective. You could see the love for you glowing from his now mature face.

As he neared the end, a noticeable change began to come over him. He first bit his lip in his peculiar way and seriousness overtook the laughter. Tears welled in his eyes and finally ran gratefully down his cheeks. Love, pride in you, and gratefullness for the honor you'd given him choked his ability to speak for a long time. At that moment, that hulk of a young man was clearly puddy in the hands of God. An indelible mark was imprinted on his heart and he thanked our Lord for the blessing.

By then, I, too,was crying...again...in recognition of the blessing God gave me when He gave me the "Best Daughter" and the "Best Son" in the universe! "Who am I that God should bless me so much?" A2J! <>< Dad

Mrs. MK said...

I love the name Ben (Benjamin)!!!

So wonderful to be able to honor your brother in this way! What a blessing!