This is my little brother Vince; I call him Vinchenzo for short. This fuzzy little picture above is one of my favorite pictures of us, and clearly not for its aesthetic qualities. When I was living in Salt Lake Vince told me there were some girls from his mission coming to visit and wanted to meet up with them for dinner. When I introduced myself as Vince's sister, they excitedly exclaimed, "Oh, YOU are Vince's sister!!" and seemed overjoyed to finally meet me. I was a little bewildered. They proceeded to explain, in their lovely Belgian accents, that on Vince's mission he would always talk about his sister who was on a mission too. Finally became a running joke in their branch about about his sister. His sister this, his sister that. This is the picture they took to prove my actual existence to their branch back home.
Needless to say, it made my night to know that my brother loves me, not that I ever had much room to question. Vince was always an exeptionally helpful sibling. He is two years younger than me, so he left on his mission a few months before I did. We were both called French speaking, he was called to Belgium, and I was called to France. He was already attending the Missionary Training Center when I arrived. He caught me unaware with his camera in hand my first day at the MTC. He got the prized picture of me with a dork dot, and gave me a big hug. Our classrooms were right next to one another. Our schedules matched, so we would go running together and practice our French on our breaks, and eat our meals together. He left me little notes on post-its in my books. Every holiday that he could call home, he would get permission to speak to me. I was always impressed by his thoughtfulness. Once, he even sent me a package.
I got home before him and found him housing at BYU. We used to go running every morning together. He recently got married to a beautiful bride.
She couldn't be more lucky, and she knows it. I was talking to my grandmother about how lucky she is, and how helpful he has always been to me. Grandma piped right in, "That is true. When we needed help done who always came over, Vince." Vince is the guy who made me peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when I was running out the door in high school. Vince is the guy who always made time for me in college and after. Vince is the guy who helped me clean my car after long road trips.
Not only that, but he is smart. I forget this sometimes, but when he came to my graduation we took time to talk...it had been a long time. He isn't quite the phone conversationalist that my sisters are. What a refreshing reminder that he is so fascinating to talk to, and such a good person; it emanates from him. I love you Vince!! And congratulations on getting married.
4 comments:
Very cool post Chantal, I didn't know a few of those things. Amazing how people grow up so fast, seems not so long ago we where having seminary at your house.
I love your stud of the month posts! In answer to your comment... yes, first time. I thought I'd see him at Michele's wedding and when that didn't happen, I thought I was in the clear. I also thought I was over it and more mature than the idiot I acted like that night... Oh well... moving on!
Thanks for your comment on my blog. It means a lot hearing from someone who was there when I was experiencing it. It is definitely a blessing to have an ending to a not so happy experience. It was really nice to be able to go back and not fear seeing him... I think we have a chance of at least being friendly toward one another which is not something I could have said a week ago. Anyway... thanks for being my friend. I miss you!
I miss you too Julianne!! You are always refreshing to be around. I hope you find someone new. Did I tell you that Colette was roommates with Tom's sister at one point? At least, I think so, while Colette was living in Ogdon.
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