All my life I never thought about that moment. More so I didn't even want to think about the moment; it was always so far ahead in my life. It seemed like I was always going to be stuck living with my brother. Back then, being the little sister, I didn't always  appreciate him and had always wished to be a single child. Looking back now, growing up with Aaron was truly a blessing. Of Course being 2 years older than me he did put me through Hell and back. Whether that was blaming me for the things he did, demolishing my toys, or even wrestling me until I screamed my head off. But other than the torture he put me through; Aaron and I were best friends and truly had the best childhood together.

As Aaron and I grew, we sadly became gradually distant from each other. He matured incredibly fast which caused the 2 years in between us so seem more like 5 years.  He became “too cool” to hang with his little sister. Aaron was always pretty popular in his schools. Everyone seemed to know him and always found him incredibly handsome and perfect. I've always been associated with my brother. The first words teachers would say to me were always “You are Aaron's sister aren’t you?”. Normally this would bother a sibling by being known for being related to your brother or sister. This never bothered me though; I've always taken great pride in being Aaron’s sister and wanted people to know that I was.

Throughout our years in highschool the distance still stayed the same between us. Although I started seeing him less often due to getting his licence and of course because of his girlfriend. He lived his highschool years to the fullest and finished his senior year with a bang. I found myself sitting on the bleachers; hearing my brothers name being called as the crowed cheered while watching Aaron walk across that stage with a gigantic smile and with his diploma in one hand. I sat and teared up with the bittersweet moment realizing how truly proud I am of him; but this means he is now moving on to the next chapter of life and things will not be the same as they always been. A month prior the whole family had visited the University of Puget Sound in Washington. The moment Aaron stepped on that campus his body light up from head to toe. From there on we knew that we would be coming back in a few short months.

Before my very eyes the day came, the day we left to take Aaron back to Puget Sound. I love to travel and so my excitement diluted down the fact of Aaron was not coming back with us. When we were all packed and ready to go that morning I looked over and noticed Aarons puffy eyes while he walked down the stairs with his 4 suitcases. My mom and dad both waved and said “Goodbye doggies, we will be back shortly”. Aaron bent down kissed, and petted all three of our dogs saying one last goodbye as all three of the dogs jumped up and wagged their tail not knowing what was going on. This could be the last time Aaron would see them since our dogs were getting  pretty old. Seeing that made it really kick in, The thoughts piled into my head as we climbed in the car and backed out of the driveway “this is really happening; Aaron is not coming back with us. I'm going to become an only child. Will my whole life be changed? I'm going to miss him so much”.

My brothers girlfriend at the time (Erica) came along with us to the airport. Her and Aaron wanted to spend every last minute they had with each other. She went through Security with us and waited at the gate with us. I still remember to this day the emotion felt throughout this time. As the minutes counted down the more anxious and sad we all got. My parents and I could not even imagine the pain that they were facing. “Flight to Seattle is now boarding” came over the loudspeaker. Aaron and Erica both locked eyes and starting crying in each other's arms. They knew that this was officially it and that they would not be proceeding their relationship any further. My parents and I both stood while tearing up. We waited for Aaron to say his goodbyes. “Last call for boarding to Seattle”. Aaron and Erica both walked up to the ticket man who scanned Aarons ticket. They gave their last hug and kiss as their hand grip got weaker while Aaron walked past the gate. We all were silent during the plane flight there. Our minds were filled with all our thoughts and emotion. Aaron stared out the window listening to music hiding from everyone around him.

Once we started landing and saw the Space Needle from our windows; most of the sadness had been replaced with excitement for a new family adventure! My junior year was starting that following Monday so we only went out to seattle for a couple of days even though we would've loved to stay longer. Those short days consisted of meeting Aaron’s new dorm mate, unpacking his stuff, and shopping for the extra things he needed. Aaron fitted in perfectly and he could not wait to start his new chapter of life in college. Those 3 days sure went by very fast! Before we knew it, it was our last day. That whole day I counted down the hours. My parents and I had to be at the airport around 4pm that day. We spent our last hours walking around campus and hanging out with Aaron in his dorm. A couple hours before we left for the airport we all went out to have one last family meal together at a small place across from campus.

Once we were all done eating we paid the bill and walked to the car. We drove Aaron to the entrance and parked outside of Puget Sound. This was now the moment I had been dreading and had thought would never come. We all got out of the car with a dreading attitude. Aaron went down the line starting with my dad, my mom and then me. I promised myself not to cry; I tried to kept a positive attitude. But then is was my turn to say goodbye. I smiled and he reached over and gave me the biggest hug he has ever given me. I have never really hugged my brother like that before and that moment all the years of distance and questionable love finally spilled out and hit me.

“I love you so much Allison, I’m going to miss you!”

Right then I started crying and hugged him even tighter. I wished that Aaron and I had been much closer all those years and that it didn’t take all this time to realize how much he means to me.

“It’s not going to be the same without you”

As we let go of each other I was surprised to see such a big smile illuminating from his face. It made me happier to know that he was happy here. I knew that I would be seeing him in December but it was still hard to say goodbye. We all waved goodbye as we got into the car. We watched him as he walked into the entrance until he had disappeared.

As we drove away I felt a heavy weight lift off me. Knowing that Aaron was happy and had everything he needed made me feel better. Aaron was all grown up now and had flown the nest. On the plane ride back I started getting lost in my thoughts. I remembered a quote I once read “You never know what you have until it’s gone” Time sure does fly by very fast! I never really worried about Aaron going off to college as we grew up. I never thought it was going to impact me so much. This was a huge change for my family and I am glad that I had cherished all the years growing up with Aaron. Even though your siblings may seem annoying at the moment, they are a big part of your life and you may not know it yet but you will as soon as they grow up and move on and aren't in your life as much as before. So cherish every moment with them.