My boyfriend always wished he had a closer relationship with his family. Growing up, he felt more isolated from his siblings because he was so much younger than they were. He moved away from his home town in his early 20s, and his family rarely made an effort to stay in touch or come visit him. He longed to feel loved, to feel wanted, to feel valued, but he didn’t receive that support from his siblings. He said he wished more than anything to have a close relationship with his brother. He wished he could have the kind of close relationships he would see other people having with their siblings.
Over the last few years he has gone the extra mile to travel to visit his brother as often as possible, and they slowly started to communicate more frequently by text or phone. He told me that in his entire life, his brother had never said “I love you” to him, even when he said it to his brother. His brother would just nod his head or say “me too” But he never said the actual words “I love you”.
This last valentines day, I was sitting in our room when my boyfriend rushed in holding his phone in his hands as though he had just been on a call, and his arms were stretched up to the sky the way people do when they are making the “touchdown” sign. He had the biggest smile on his face and he could hardly contain himself as he shouted “HE SAID HE LOVED ME!!!!!”.
I cried, he cried, it was beautiful. It took 52 years to finally happen, but he said it was worth the wait to hear his brother say those words to him! Was a great valentine’s day, my heart was so happy for him!
-Jen , Austin
