In the seventh grade, we moved from the city of Chicago to the suburbs across the border in Indiana. This move made sense, as dad now worked in East Chicago, Indiana. I had a hard time adjusting to the move, but eventually made some friends, one of whom invited me to church, where they had a robust teen choir, which I became a member of.
Mom and Dad were okay with me attending church here, and even my younger brother eventually got involved. I think the basketball team became more of an attraction for him, as he never joined the choir. Shortly after getting involved with the choir, they put on a presentation for Easter, and Mom and Dad attended. Something must have struck a chord with them, as soon after attending the Easter presentation, they announced that they would be coming to church there on a regular basis.
Church soon became a central point of my life. Most of my friends were from there, youth on Sunday with choir practice before, Wednesday night study, activities, etc. The one aspect of this I regret is the distance it put between my younger brother and I. He was 2-1/2 years younger, and we had always been close. Now, as I had more friends, distance grew. Sometimes you don't want your little brother hanging with you and your friends. That distance continued and we never regained the closeness we had had when we were younger. He withdrew from the entire family and also had some substance abuse issues. I wonder if that might have been different had I been more inclusive with him. That is easy to ask, looking back. But in the moment, it was impossible to see.
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