As promised, I told you that I would have an update on my meeting my older brother. Well, everything went great! Jungle and I are still talking about it. We went out to eat last Saturday; my younger brother and I, and my brother and his wife. Moms joined us a little later. We sat and talked for almost two hours before we even ordered anything! When we first got there, Jungle and I played the "do you think that's him?" game, as he had called and said he was 4 minutes behind me. Finally getting inside and passing the brief awkward moment of looking for someone with no knowledge of what they look like, in a public place no less, someone stood up in front of me and said
"Z? I'm Mooney. This is my wife Trina."
This man looks exactly like me. He's short and stocky. That's me in a nutshell, sans the anatomy. Of course I didn't see it as soon as I saw him, but after sitting for a while and examining facial features; trying to catch a glimpse of daddy, I finally started to see the resemblance. Him and little brother's hands are exactly the same. Overall we had a great time. He explained to us that his children wanted to come along, but they all had prior obligations, but they're down for the next time. Jungle already has a 2K9/Madden challenge from his nephew, and both our nieces are eager to meet us. We tripped about the fact that Mooney's favorite thing to do is cook, and his specialty is lasagna; so he's like his father in more ways than one! My dad's lasagna is a crowd pleaser, so hearing my brother say that he loves to cook--without knowing that his father's a beast in the kitchen until I told him--was amazing to me. Him and his wife have been married for 20 years, so not only did I find my brother, but I now have a sister-in-law. The blessings just keep pouring in.
There was a lot of questions asked, catching up and story sharing. What made the both of us excited was the fact that he almost seemed more excited to meet than we did. When he picked up the check once it came, my mother told him that he didn't have to pay for everything. I was so happy when he looked at her and said
"I met my little brother and sister today, so this is nothing."
There were so many highlights of that evening, but I feel I'd go scatterbrained if I tried to reiterate them all. Just know that it was a beyond perfect reunion. We're all supposed to hang out this weekend; the four of us, his children and our younger sister he'd like to meet. There were short bursts of conversation about our father, so I'm taking that as a good sign. 2009 is looking like an excellent year for me. I've found my family, so who knows what else I will accomplish this year!
(deuces.)
