“Memories are the glue that holds a family together”

I could probably sum up the whole damn thing with one sentence. We are the Brothertons and there was a passel of us for sure.

From Arlie and Sylvia’s commitment to each other, 15 of us pushed and shoved our way into the world and you either loved us or hated us. Sometimes you admired us and other times prayed for the day that we would have our “come to Jesus” moment.

Among my many other faults, I am the youngest boy of the clan. I suppose the older ones loved me enough…when they cared to think of me at all. Mostly, I was just a passing thought. “Oh him, that’s just my little brother, don’t pay any mind to him and he’ll go away. I grew up with a myriad of names…brat, punk, kid, baby…but legally I was named Jerry. Or, when my mother or father believed I was in the wrong…Jerry Wayne Brotherton, get your ass in here…NOW.

However things went, my little sister and I just never seemed to catch up to the rest of the family. You see, when we had just entered our most impressionable years, we were plucked up from the beloved town of Wakenda and plopped down in another story altogether. So we would sit around and listen to all the stories, jokes and folklore about the old town like it was a shrine or something. Hell the entire town was wiped off the face of the earth in a flood so we couldn’t even go back and try to recover what we had missed. Sometimes it feels like we just never quite belonged.

So take every opportunity with your friends and family to make as many memories as you can. After all, what glue holds a family together better than the memories they share?