1,398 Days Later

In the past 1,398 days I have seen my brother Braden in person for only 7. In the other 1,391 I’ve briefly spoken to him on the phone on 6 occasions and seen his face on Skype only once. We haven’t had a Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Halloween together since the winter of 2006. But on May 6th, that will all change.

Do you ever feel like there’s someone in the world who knows you better than anyone? Someone who knows exactly how your mind works, knows what your motivations and values are, knows where you’ve been, where you’re at, and where you’re going. Someone who you can be your complete and exact self with because they require no explanation. Braden is one of those people to me.

It might be because we shared a room since the day he was born. It might be because we both like seeing results, but are both definitely ready for quirky random adventures. It might be because of the thousands of hours playing Adventure Castle, block wars, board games, matchbox car role playing (each car with a name that ended in a “Y” for some reason) or the fact that every single family board game turned into a Braden vs. Travis death match. It might be because of our teamed-up teasing of our lovely sister Camille or comradery/mentoring of Derek (me trying to make him more dream-chasing, and Braden trying to make him more practical). Whatever it is, we know each other more than anyone ever has.

For the past 4 years we’ve e-mailed each other once a week, missing only two or three weeks out of the 200. For the first half of those years they were sent from Taiwan to America, and the last half from America to Russia. We’ve filled each other in on school, on baptisms, on girls, on exchanges, on our family, on scriptures, on our dreams, on our futures. Every week I can honestly say I looked forward to his e-mails more than any other piece of real or electronic mail. Because even in the time we’ve been apart, I’ve never felt closer to him. And whether he was home earning the Monson Scholar award and conducting a flash mob, or at Russia being a leader and changing people’s lives, I’ve never felt so proud of being his brother.

Next year we will once again be roommates. And another one of our best friends, younger brother Derek, will be in town as well. Party? Yes.

Braden my brother. I am so excited to have you back!