My brother and my favorite neighbor

i am the third oldest in my family, with brothers two and four years older than me. Brian is my oldest brother and he turned out to be pretty great. as toddlers he showed amazing patience with his little sister ... until he became a teenager.

i can't much blame him. i mean, what teenage boy has anything at all in common with a sister four years his junior? it was not a matter of hatred nor uncaring. i now chalk it up more to a lack of common denominator between the two of us.

there were times in my early teens when i wondered if Brian and i would ever find a commonality between us.

***

i was just 8 months old when my family moved to the house i would call my home when growing up. it was fall of 1992 and we were moving into a nice little neighborhood in suburban portland, oregon.

this is the house my parents planned to make home for their family.

as i said, i was not even a year old when we moved. my parents were inside our new house and i was in a stroller sleeping away my mid-day nap.

***

Peggy was a wonderful woman who had lived in the house across the street since the 1960's, raised three kids and had remained in her house after her husband passed away in 1984.

she would become my favorite neighbor growing up. my brothers, sisters and i would always help with groceries, lawn mowing and such. we were all great portland trail blazers fans.

i learned more from her than i learned from any time i ever spent doing classwork.

***

Peggy came over the day we were moving in when 5-year-old Brian was outside.

she introduced herself to my brother with a smile.

"hi, "i'm Brian Martin," my brother said. "that's my brother Kevin playing on the porch.

"come over here," he continued. "this is my baby sister, Kassandra. isn't she beautiful?"

***

unfortunately, my first neighbor passed away in april 2009 of a heart attack.

that was a truly sad day in my heart.

***

now at 18 years old, i think of the friendship between my brother and i. there are no more concerns about a common denominator between us.

we're both entering adulthood and have our concerns of life and the future.

i cherish the bond, especially as i prepare to go 675 miles away to college. he is a u.s. army recruiter stationed just 30 miles away from my school.

***

i suppose i never should have been concerned at all.

after all, he told Peggy what he thought of me all those years ago.