Member-only story
19 years ago today
Not only is it my little brother’s birthday, but also a sad day.
19 years ago, I was 11, almost 12. My step mom had my younger brother J. What was supposed to be a happy day, wasn’t so happy. It may have been almost 20 years ago, but it still stings like it was yesterday.
My dad had picked my older brother D and myself up from school. He told us that Y had the baby and we were going to go meet him. I was a preteen, so I wasn’t thrilled about not being the youngest kid anymore. It is what it is, because I was still my dad’s only daughter.
We get to the hospital, go up to her room, and see baby J. Everything is going good like it should. Dad was sitting in the chair next to Y, holding J when he said he had to tell us something. Being as this is supposed to be a happy day, I figured it was something good. Boy, I was wrong.
At that moment, dad told us he had cancer. Throat cancer. I felt my world crumble. At that point in my life, my dad was the one constant person. My mom never put D and myself first over her husband and his kids. Dad was always there. He worked all the time, but he was still there for us kids.
I held it together until we got home. I went right to my room, shut my door, and cried. My head was racing, and I had so many questions. I was scared out of my…
