Thanksgiving with my crazy Brother

As I shopped, cooked, and spent the day with my Brother, I realized how much my Mother truly was a saint.

This Brother has some sort of mental problems. My b/f and I are not really sure what. I do know he is bi-polar, but in addition, he talks all the time. It seems he must verbalize everything he is thinking. In addition, he would fall into the category of "arrested development", as well as bad decision making.

This was never really discussed when we were children. He is 8 years older than I, so I don't remember a lot about him.

The one story which always highlighted the result of his mental condition was when he burnt down the barn.

He was probably about 10 or 11. Apparently he started a fire (playing with matches), and for some unknown reason (well, because his reasoning skills are apparently impaired) tried to put out the fire by putting hay on it.

As we lived quite far from a firehouse, the barn burned to the grown before the firemen arrived.

My parents decided he should then burn the trash every week (which is how we disposed of our trash back then), in the hopes this would cure his need for playing with fire.

It's always difficult spending time with him. I do if for Mom, and because I am his family.

But, he is always anxious to help, and managed to make dinner rolls, using Mom's recipe. They turned out quite good.

He was happy.

I was glad to go home.