My brother Joel

I've been meaning to post about Joel for months, in particular 2 stories! Even though it is October, I'm going to date this in April because these definitely happened before that.  Joel moved into our house in February 2010 & moved out in March 2011. It was an interesting experience for all of us. Johnders fell in love, truly adores Joel. Julia did too - she really enjoyed seeing Joel every day. They both seem to miss him lots. Jai & I had slightly different perspectives on Joel living with us, versus a trusting dog & small child. : )

Even though Joel really wasn't self sufficient enough to live on his own, we finally had to make the hard decision to ask for the key. He transitioned permanently to living with his girlfriend, whom he met in January, her 4 year old daughter & her mother. Not the best circumstances, but Joel had over a year to get his life in order.  He kept his job & paid most of his bills which is amazing, but other decisions were not as well managed & we didn't feel comfortable anymore.

Story 1 - really it's more of a comment as is Story 2 - this one is truly funny
"A sweater is like putting on a warm hug."
Imagine a 35 year old man who is 6 feet tall saying this sentence to you.

Story 2 - we laughed a bit after, but it's not funny, truly reflective of Joel's poor decision making process
After getting arrested for a DUI in January, Joel, Jai & I were discussing the situation, trying to understand what happened, why Joel had been driving after drinking, some options/choices he could have made. Joel says "so if you & Jai go out to dinner, 1 of you doesn't drink?" One of us replied "uh, yes, 1 of us is the DD." Joel's response - "Wow, that's really responsible."

I love my brother & wish him well. I truly hope that he is able to organize his life to take care of himself & his children in a mature & responsible way. I also will try to help him if I can, but not at the sacrifice of my safety or my family's.