Your Uncle

I'm writing you a story about moments imprinted into my overloaded brain like today when you met your Uncle Josh for the very first time. You smiled so big and took him in like a giant gulp of water. His face, his eyes. It's like you knew we were connected by blood. Your mother's brother. It's like you knew he was special to me.

You watched him with such intensity as he pounded on the black and white keys on the old out of tune piano downstairs. Only your Uncle Josh can make an out of tune piano make sense. You watched him as he traveled through the space around you throwing a football.

Someday you may be gifted a brother or a sister and you will understand our bond. You will understand that growing up you may not always get along, but when you're grown up you will need each other. Some day you will understand the bond siblings share.

Here is what I want you to know about your uncle Josh. He is smart. The kind of smart that can diagnose a technical problem in seconds. He can build you a computer in minutes and show you how to use it with the patience of a retired 96-year-old with no agenda. No, he doesn't look or act 96. He looks quite young but has always acted wise beyond his years.

Your uncle Josh is musically gifted. The kind of gift where he can hear a song once and pick up a guitar and play it. He is calm. The kind of calm that doesn't break under pressure. The kind of calm that is best under pressure. The kind of calm that makes you calm even in un-calm moments.

He is humble. He will kill me if he ever reads this. He will beg me to take it down. He will ask me to never post anything about him again. And so continues the ongoing battle. He will always be the calm older brother. And I will always embarrass him.

States will separate you from your Uncle Josh, but I hope this doesn't separate you from getting to know him. He is a good dude, Jack. It was good to see you, my brother.