A day of sadness...

Today is the anniversary of my step-brother's death on Mount McKinley in Alaska (also known as Denali). He was 25 yrs (turning 26 in July) old when he died during a climbing accident on his descent from the top of Mount McKinley. Dan and I were never really close. I think it was mostly because we were both old enough to be really aware and unhappy about the circumstances of our blended family. I was 8 or 9 and he was a year older when our parents married and we resented each other almost from the start. We spent our "formative years" together, but when our parent's divorced when we were teenagers we never really spoke again (I am still close to his sister, however, and speak to her often). Even though our relationship was not close, I still think of him around this time of year and I still consider him to be my brother. No matter what, the shared experiences of our youth bound us together as family, blood or not.

Rest in peace my brother......