Heavenly Beverley : Getting to Know You, Getting to Know More About You...

Saturday 10 February 2018

Getting to Know You, Getting to Know More About You...

I struggled with the title of this post. Sitting on Simon's shady verandah with a cooling breeze rising from the river, I wanted to convey the kind of astonishing man I have discovered in my brother. "What a funny old fellow is Humphrey..." or "Climb Every Mountain..." or "A Star is Born" just didn't seem to emphasise his character. So, I ended comparing him to the King of Siam!

As children, with a seven-year age gap between us, I always saw Simon as out-of-reach, enigmatic and untouchable. In the chaos of our upbringing, I think Simon had already worked out how to emotionally shield himself from the maelstrom that threatened to consume us all. And by the time I was twelve, Simon was no longer a constant in my life, meaning that he became even more remote.

I saw him at rare times through my adolescence and adulthood. His wedding, Michael's wedding, David's wedding and my own wedding. And ever so briefly on other occasions. We seemed destined never to have a close sibling relationship.

Until Mum's death. That was her legacy to us all. The four of us gathered to honour and farewell her, for the first time in thirty-nine years. Seven months later, we stayed at Simon's close-to-paradise home as part of brother Michael's sixtieth birthday celebrations. After Dad's death, we stayed with Simon again. And now, prior to scattering Mum and Dad's ashes, we are spending another week here high above the mighty Burnett River.

Western Australia's Wheatbelt has pimples and puddles; Queensland has mountains and rivers. To come here and experience these landscapes is part of the attraction, along with catching up with my brothers.

Revelation has followed revelation. We all had different experiences growing up. All vulnerable, we coped in different ways. And since November 2016, I have finally learnt so much more about my middle brother, Simon.

He is not aloof.
He is not complicated.
He is not particularly enamoured with housework.
He does not suffer fools.
He is not humourless - in fact, he is the very opposite.
He is unfailingly generous.
He is incredibly intelligent.
He is a gifted and innovative General Practitioner. He has letters of commendation to prove this point.
He lives each day to its fullest.
He is passionately attached to those he cares for.

So, finishing this post in front of the Winter Olympics on the telly, I do hold Simon in some wonder. He expects nothing from his guests - he is as easy-going as possible.

And he has just shouted us an amazing dinner at the South Kolan Hotel. Look this pub up. Rural location, great service and excellent pub food. Just don't arrive for "Drive-Thru" at two o'clock in the morning...

Morning at Sharon...