One Long Year

It has been a year since the death of my brother. A lot of things have happened during this year. One of my daughters got married, 11 months later, my son got married, another daughter got engaged and my 15th grandchild will arrive any day.

I did go back to Chicago three times after my brother’s death. The first time was to go to his funeral. The second time, I visited my niece with my daughter. The third time, a few of my family members and I participated in the Jack “Doc” Aiello Run for Someone 5K Walk and Run. A Run that was held for a number of years and was renamed for my brother.

During those early months, each day was filled with lots of memories. There was a big void where I could no longer call and talk to my brother, or send him a card, or an email. In the beginning, it was simply too hard to even look at my brother’s picture.

Now it is a bit easier but there still is that disbelief that he is dead. There is that missing piece. I realize there will always be that missing piece for me. But I also think it is a little bit easier living here in Pittsburgh then living in Chicago where my brother lived. There are just too many memories there.

From all of this, I realize that one of the most important things in life is family. Money, fame, and notoriety are not that important. My small family - mother, father and brother are all gone. Now I have my own family – sons, daughters, their spouses and my grandchildren. Our lives all intersect and I enjoy them. I plan to continue to enjoy them, every day of my life.