“For We Are Nothing Without Brotherhood” — We Came as Romans
Most of us have had friends who have come and gone. Friendships are built on several foundations including trust, common interests and location. Unfortunately, if one of these foundations changes, often the friendship does as well. It’s hard to stay BFFs when you don’t live near each other anymore or share common ground such as college, children, etc.
My son has a birth brother, but he also has two friends who are brothers in every sense… just by different mothers.
Their friendship began in middle school when they met in football where they bonded over barrel rolls, 6 a.m. conditioning and several wins and losses.
The first time I was introduced to the “other brothers,” the boys were in the 9th grade and on spring break. They would run in and out of the house, usually shirtless, as they would go back and forth to the creek where they would fish and swim.
High school came and these three were thick as thieves. They each experienced football injuries, girlfriends, lock-in football camp and other adventures I’m probably better off not knowing about.
When it came time to head to college, two “brothers” went to the same school and roomed together. The other “brother” was left to fend for himself at another school. This was a pivotal moment in these boys’ friendship. Would they remain close or would they drift apart?
During college breaks, it was like they were never apart, and it did my heart good to make breakfast for the three amigos on more than one occasion when they were home.
This past summer, my son’s friend severely cut his finger on a hedge trimmer while he and my son were doing a landscaping job. My son called to tell me what happened and that he was taking his friend to the ER. The other “brother” was in our basement awaiting their return and when he learned of his friend’s accident, immediately flew out of the house to meet the other boys at the ER
Like blood brothers, they’ve had their disagreements, but they always resolve them. It’s amazing to me to see three get along so well. Typically, that doesn’t happen- someone is usually at odds with another.
These three share a unique bond, one that I hope carries them into their post-college lives. I look forward to sharing all their milestones from college graduation to marriage to fatherhood.
“Brother from Another Mother” — A friend that is so close he is like a brother, though obviously from another mother.
