"You and me are brothers."

Last weekend, we had more out-of-town visitors. In fact, one was a very special visitor: Ryan, Bob’s 28-year-old son from Chicago who drove up to the Twin Cities with his girlfriend Mandy and her folks for a graduation party. This was the first time Ryan would meet Garrett and quite frankly I was a little nervous. Blending families is never easy and neither Ryan nor his sister Susie has ever expressed any interest in Garrett. Which always made me sad because I know if they met him they’d like him. But you can’t force things, so we haven’t pushed for it to happen.

But now that day was here. We didn’t tell Garrett who Ryan was because we didn’t know how the day would go. It got out to a slow start. Garrett was a bit shy and Ryan hung back a bit, showering Cody with most of his attention. This was only my second time meeting Ryan, so I was feeling a bit uncomfortable. All these thoughts kept going through my head: Will Ryan pay any attention to Garrett? Will he like him? Will he acknowledge him as his brother? Mandy was pretty open and friendly, which helped break the ice. Both she and Ryan are currently in school studying to become primary and middle school teachers, so they have a natural affinity for kids. By mid-afternoon, Ryan and Garrett were throwing around a ball together. Around 4 pm, Mandy’s parents showed up—it was time to drive back home. Throughout the afternoon, Mandy was taking photos of Ryan and Cody (Cody used to be Bob’s ex-wife’s dog, so he grew up with him). But every time Garrett got into the frame, they’d tell him to move. So I didn’t dare pull out my camera to get a “shot” of the brothers. While we were saying our goodbyes, Mandy’s mom (can't remember her name) said to Garrett, “Isn’t it great you finally get to meet your big brother?” Garrett didn’t understand and it was an awkward moment, but Ryan rose to the occasion. He looked Garrett square in the eye and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “You and me are brothers.” Then he scooped him up and put him on his shoulders and Mandy took their picture. With tears streaming down my face, I made a beeline to the camera and got this picture. This was huge—last Sunday, Garrett gained a big brother. And I know Bob and I couldn’t be more thrilled.