Giving this a try

Blogging....

Seems to me to be a form of online journaling, giving people access to your thoughts. I have been reading my brother's blog here and am feeling like diving into the this thing. The problem is, I am 33 years old and the longest I have ever been able to write down my thoughts with any sort of consistency is around 5 days. That being said, I will try to make this different.

I have read the quippy and articulate musings of my younger brothers and am feeling like "big brother" better represent. Growing up in a house with 4 boys, there has always been competition between us. If you can think of a contest, we have all tried to "win" at some point. Some families have a hand in creating an unhealthy competition between siblings. Some people go their whole lives trying to be better than a brother or sister. My dad taught the four of us that character, integrity and hard work is what will set you apart in life. (He taught us so much more than that....but those were always the under current to everything) The four of us have attacked life having learned those lessons and approach most things with intensity to do whatever "it" is at the moment the best we possibly can.

So here we are....all married, all fathers, all going hard after life. If you happen to know anything about us, you know how different the four of us go after our desires. If I was going to be honest "at levels most of us don't talk about at parties", then I would say my brothers have helped me become who I am. The competition I spoke of has driven me to do better. Am I obsessed with doing things better than all of them? No. All I am trying to do is be like each of them. They each have qualities I want in my life. I think about what a blessing it is to have brothers that I truly admire and appreciate for exactly who they are.

I don't know how common or rare it is to have four brothers who love each other, respect each other and downright enjoy being together...but the Rowell boys (now men in the loosest sense of the word) expereince this.

I found a quote from Bonaro Overstreet I will end my first attempt at blogging:

"We are not only our brother's keeper; in countless large and small ways, we are our brother's maker."