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ROAD TRIPS WITH MY BROTHER
My brother and I have been busy, very busy- marrying, raising children, working to pay the mortgage, etc. Though we only live 30 miles apart, for the past 20 years we've seen each other only on the "big" holidays and for the occasional birthday. Life just got in the way of our having a closer relationship, or maybe we just let it get in the way.

I am the youngest of 4; the "baby girl" with three older brothers. Sadly, our two eldest brothers died in separate accidents before they reached adulthood. That left Ralph and I the only surviving siblings. It was hard to know where we fit in this new family dynamic. I was still the youngest, but my brother was cast into the role as eldest child quickly and very unexpectedly. Partly, I believe, because of the confusion about what our roles were within the family, we remained somewhat distant. That was always a source of sadness to me and, I have since found out, to my brother as well.

Earlier this year I became ill and was hospitalized. Instinct led me to call on my big brother for comfort and he was there "in spades". He called me every day to check up on me and visited often. When I was recovering at home, he dragged me out of the house even when I did not want to go and helped me to find my way back to life. Spending more time together, we found there was so much we did not know about each other and we talked incessantly. We shared many a laugh, along with some tears.

Thus, began our road trips! Some were one-day expeditions, others included a night/nights away from home. For now, we've decided these trips are just for us, no spouse or kids allowed. We have a lot to catch up on. We will, I am sure, include the rest of the family in the not-too-distant future. I hope, however, we will always take the "just us" trips. One of my favorite outings was a day-long excursion to the city of our birth, Chicago. (If you've ever driven in Chicago, you know that no matter how far you're driving, because of the constant gridlock, it qualifies as a road trip!) We both now live in the burbs and it's rare that we venture back into the big city. On one particularly warm summer weekend we headed into the Loop for a day of fun. We walked and hopped free trolley cars when we were too tired to walk another step. We visited the magnificent Millennium Park and Navy Pier with its exquisite view of our beautiful lake-front. We sat and listened to music, ate lots of interesting things and talked, really talked. It's

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