The Brother

The brother came to visit.
I mean a whole 4 weeks later than he said he would as well.
Well it could have been worse!
Of course the taking his mother out etc didn't happen.
They stayed a wee while then left, I think he managed 15 mins with his mother and left sister in law with her for about an hour then blethered supreme nonsense to me and eldest sister and have left, breaking a new world record of 2hours of a visit.
Considering they've driven 47 miles to get here, you'd think they'd stay a wee while longer but they don't. Sure there is another reason why they have come to town, it won't just be us!
He always moans about me knowing more about his youngest daughter's life than he does. ( She now lives in Australia) but she keeps in touch with me and she claims they rarely contact her and when she gets them on the phone its like pulling teeth and we have the worlds' worst family for communication.
Its true , her and I are the only 2 communicators in the family.
There are lots of us, and yet only 2 of us bother .
Ok second eldest sister and eldest sister are in a semi reg way but that's it.
I know M cannot stand the rest of us and I am sure if she could be an only child she'd have loved it!
I find family is important, I may not like some of them but they are family and bonds must be kept in some form.
I have to admit my brother and i aren't close he's 21 years older than me,his son, is just 3 years younger than me and as I grew up, my brother really wasn't him but my nephew and since my great nephew died 2 Christmas' ago, my nephew and I aren't as close. Not because of anything other than he's now he feels he's let folk down by allowing his then 17 year old son die ( he died in his sleep nothing he could have done I add).
The boys keep in contact, we have always communicated by some medium, errant daughter no, if I hear from her I usually go into shock!
( its usually as she wants something!).
A friend has just 1 brother in town, her other sister died 1 year ago suddenly and another lives down south and yet she purposely doesn't and didn't contact them often.
If I lived further away I'd probably be in contact more, but she moans about not hearing from them and from some friends, but communication works 2 ways and she told me to get a grip and life goes on after my great nephew died!
So I didn't communicate with her much for a while but I do make the effort which annoyed me last week when I did call her and she made comment about long time no hear, there is a phone in your house, pick it up dial it,I'll answer this end or an e mail, but I didn't say such things I was good, just listened to her moans, as I did today about my brother's life.
Ah well if they think my life is better than theirs so be it, they just don't know how lucky they are then!