These past two days have been a bit emotionally taxing in the Leonard house, but today I received some great news. I have been chosen, by my brother, to be his sponsor for his Confirmation! My family is Catholic, so all of us have been confirmed – it’s a tradition. Fun fact: my confirmation name is Bridget, after Saint Bridget of Ireland. She was known for helping to heal the sick from the poor Irish farming class, which was the lowest of the low at this point in history. The Irish people were treated very poorly by their British colonizers for many years, so one can only imagine the horrors she saw. St. Bridget is also attributed to creating the Irish Cross or Celtic cross, which is typically weaved out of straw. For those of you who did not attend Catholic school for all or some of their lives, I must sound like a lunatic.

Despite this, when he asked me, I was truly honored. He and I are very close, and I would like to think of myself as someone whom he depends on and looks up to. He is truly a great kid, and I am very blessed to have him in my life. For those who have never met him, you would understand how special he is within ten minutes of talking with him. However, there are some of you that may never get the chance to meet him, so a description of him will have to do.

Seamus is currently in seventh grade now and is about 5’8”, now officially being the tallest in our immediate family. He is an extremely talented mathematician and just an overall smarty pants (I like to say he takes after me in this regard, but I can’t do any kind of math to save my life). He is funny, kind, and inclusive of everyone regardless of creed or status or intellectual ability. He is just an easy-going kid, and we often refer to each other as #twinnies.

There are two special times that immediately come to mind, and I would like to touch on them because they truly cemented our relationship and also solidifies how great he is. Firstly, when he was born, Seamus failed his hearing test. And then he failed it again. And again. And again. At this point, my mother was hysterical because she thought he was born deaf. I remember telling her on the phone that everything would be fine and that he was probably too lazy to respond. Well, low and behold, on the seventh (and last) test, he finally reacted, in part, to the hearing test, meaning that he could hear in only one ear. And then he eventually passed in the second ear. And guess who ended up being right about that? Despite my mother being a mess during this time, she vows that, if he had been deaf, I would have been his biggest protector.

This second time is a bit more emotionally charged. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I had finally, after months of suffering, ended a toxic relationship that was affecting my health, both mentally and physically, over this past summer. After the fact, I felt guilty and sad, as it had taken so much inner strength for me to do that. I felt like I was grasping at straws. I’m really not a cry-baby (I actually hate crying), but the faucets had been turned on full-capacity. Rightfully so, all of my siblings gave me space. I was sitting in my bed, sniffling away, and my brother came into my room. He said absolutely nothing and just laid next to me for a while. That, to me, was such a sweet and thoughtful thing to do which ended up making me cry harder. As he was getting up to leave, he let me know that everything was going to be okay and that I did the right thing. Cliché, but I needed to hear it. Never in my entire life have I felt the strength of familial comfort more than I did in that time.

With all of that being said, I suppose I should keep the end short and say that I am very grateful to be his older sister and even more honored to be his confirmation sponsor this March.  He is one special kid and will always hold a big place in my heart.