"I'm Going Home' , In loving memory of my brother Michael

I have started to pack , I am coming home to my family, yes my family. 283 Mclean St. ph; 832 4855 home of Ken and Sheila Green, has come to life again. I can see my self opening the front screen  door, the one  where our dog Cookie  has scratched  grooves wearing out the door, right below the door handle. I open the solid storm door and  step inside  into what  Mom always called .the Front Hall; sounds  so spacious doesn't it? It was in fact a large vestibule, which in comparison to the front hall designation sounds quite grand, so for our little modest home, naming our entrance  the front hall works just fine. It is here in this front hall with its  chaotic organization of coats, and more coats all  hung up on hooks or hangers, mitts and hats stuffed into the arms of coats, making them look like they had a arm left behind. And all those boots and shoes, paired and lined up, this is where  you first enter my home, my families home.  You know I never ever remember stepping onto  a mess of shoes, and mine were always there when I went  to put them on. Must have been the Coat and Shoe Elves that did their magic; I wonder if their names could have been Heather or Michael , Lawrence, Holly or Gay pardon me Veronica,  and sometimes Pam, but most likely never ever Derrick!
Now 2 more steps and opps I  am in the kitchen ; the table to left and the living room to the right,  Steam from the pots on the stove billow up to the ceiling.  Now look at that ,over there to the left ..what a beautiful lacy and leafy pattern of frost  on the window above the  table. It t is  so lovely and warm  inside I can hardly wait to take my coat off.  I am home, at last I am home!
Mom calls "Supper is ready" and from out of thin air we all appear at the table in the kitchen, I am amazed at how much food  Derrick, Michael and Lawrence can pile  onto  their plates, Mom always serves Dad ..and I like this ..a lot .  We can all fit around the table in the kitchen, which must have been a daily miracle, and it is here for sure , where we all learned the  lesson in dining etiquette; do  not stick your  elbows out when using  knives and forks!
 Dad is there , he does look a  little tired, Mom too, and then we all tuck in, passing bowls saying please and thank you ,  and absolutely no one ever complains about the meal Mom has made, and we all know when it is our turn  to  say thank you...it is so common and normal it just seems to happen, you see  Holly and I learned to do this from our older siblings, all 5 of them. And yes we still say "pass the potatoes ,please" and "thank you". Afterwards. the evening is ours ;  after dishes that is.  This is my family, this is our family and this is where we started to become whom you all know now. You know I have to go home now, I have to be with my family just one more time.. We no longer have 283 Mclean St for our home , but somehow where ever and whenever we are together we are at  our house, our little, cozy, warm house where we all fit just fine.

It is here we all brought home our first loves, it is here we learned to love each other, no matter what,  it is here I remember Michael  or Lawrence chasing Holly and me , making us laugh and squeal .  
It is here I first met Debbie , Michaels love of his life, and one day to become partner, wife and mother to his precious kids; beautiful inside and out Sarah, and "the prince ' Dustin.
 I remember Michael introducing me to Debbie in our living room , and from then on Debbie was always there., it is difficult  for me to  think  of a time when it wasn't Michael and Deb, it has always  been Michael and Debbie.
 Michael and Debbie worked hard to create a life for themselves and their children, they actually if you really think of it, grew up  together, putting aside the realities and choices of youthful immaturity and taking more and more on the responsibilities of a mature relationship, of parent and in-lawhood., of building  a life together. This meant for  Mike and Deb, not only, in  their work, and home, it meant in their family, and this included  their individual families becoming their family together with their children, For Michael and Debbie this meant the Bechamps and Greens, it meant Shirley , Debbies' mom , and Sheila, Michaels' mom would always have a place of importance in their lives, home ,and hearts.  Michael and Debbie easily choose to extend this to  each of their own families siblings who could and would call, their home, home as well.

  Yes I am  coming home , and I can hardly wait to get there. A lot has changed and we are a whole lot bigger , this Green machine ,as once noted by a bother in law Neil. And holy cow are there ever alot of kids.... yes most of our family is now made up of  just kids.  Kids to us brothers and sisters that is!  Kids like Brian, Adam , Alex, Ryan and Sarah to  name just the oldest of each of our families.. Okay, I can hear the peanut gallery stirring... there are the kids Kyle, Shannon, Josh, young Heather, Olivia, Dustin Shawn , Kelley as well...heaven help me if I forgot someone!  The list continues because these kids grew up and found their own loves, and yes some are having and have had their own kids,
 Sadly some changes are really really hard , our Dad is gone now, as well other love ones, When Michael and I last talked about Dad , just a few months ago we  both agreed that  we  miss him even more now and more with each passing year. Michael told me stories about him and Dad,; stories written that I never knew were happening , right there at Two Eighty Three . One story was when our aunt our moms sister had come to visit, all the way from England, and Michael and Debbie were going to take  Mom and Aunt Doris our west in their camper.Dad wanted to go ,  but it had not been planned that way, and this had really bothered Michael; however when Dad came around the corner of the house with a small suitcase Michael seized the moment and  quickly said "hop in Pop" and off they went.to go on to have a wonderful time . I love that about Michael, how he could just seize the moment and make something good happen.   
I am coming home and now Michael is gone, I can hardly believe it to be true. He was so full of life and fun, Up for a drive,  a fishing trip, up to help you out, up for good laugh and a beer, up for a serious talk and a big hug, Always doing something, always there.
Michael  had plans he had dreams, some of them small and some of them big, and some were just very very beautiful. Michael loved  so much , his compacity to be helpful, hardworking, and his stick toitness was huge. Michael loved love and he knew that he knew love was not just a feeling it was a force , as real as gravity. Michael loved his Debbie , his Sarah and Dustin. Sarahs'  husband John became his son, he respected John , he respected and admired Sarah and John's commitment to each other and he fell madly in love with their baby daughter , his grand daughter Grace Ivy Douglas.  Dustin, his son, was a beautiful part of his life. Dustins' love for his Dad , grew and matured where they, as father and son were  becoming friends as well.  Dustins  partner Eco , has been a blessing, and Michael  wished for them both much happiness. he once said to me 'Pam she just seems to fit." which I knew to mean a very tender and loving observation.There is another young woman in Michael's   life that he loved like a daughter his niece by Debbies' sister Judy.,Erin , Erin was like a daughter to him, a sister to Sarah and Dustin  Erins sons Leo and Ollie brought Michael much joy.
Earlier this year Dustin came with his Dad to BC to visit Ken and I. This meant so much to Michael, and I know it meant just as much to Dustin. and it meant and now means so much more to me, to us.
A wonderful  memory of their visit, is of  Michael and my Ken sitting outside on the front porch enjoying some 18 year old scotch and a cigar, all the while talking and laughing , they were at it for a hour or so. Michael could do that you know, hang out and enjoy the moment, Whether is was over a chili burger, a coffee , a beer ,  some tea  or some great scotch.
The simple life attracted Michael, a life close to nature and a comradeship of equals , this is is how he saw it , this is another faucet of what he loved . Michael loved camp fires, and fishing, hunting and walks , he loved forests and Hawaii, he loved snorkeling, and a cold beer, he loved the sun , he loved the stars, he loved dogs and respected all wild life., and he may have even loved a cat or two. He loved long drives, and cooking, he loved being helpful and seeing a good job done. he loved music and rock and roll, he loved to dance and he loved to laugh, even to laugh at himself.
 Brothers in law, and dare I say a few nephews , sisters and sister in laws  can attest to a fun and loving Mike Green.  I just read a little FB comment from  our sisters partner Kirk, reminiscing  of Michaels' surprise visits driving  out to see  them in the country, honking his car horn all the way down the driveway, with the promise of a fun and happy times to come..  
How can I know so much , how would I know this all to be true? Because Michael told me. yes we talked and talked. Sometimes for hours, sometimes  while ignoring others around us. Sometimes he did most of the talking, but I managed to say what I needed to ...and  at other times he would  do the listening, albeit he always had something to add. Man I was almost  out done in the talking department by Michael, at least it could be considered a toss up who could talk the most, have the most advice, and  who could solve the universe problems the best !
Our Mom always said Michael could have been a philosopher...and perhaps in another time that is just what he would have been,,,Practically speaking though then at least philosophers were paid , as for today it may have been just a bit to meager a living. So it is best he was who he was , and it is best that he was here with us,  Michael will always be loved ...he will always be  loved, as a friend; a brother; a father; a lover; and  a plain and simple good guy.  
I am coming home , and it will be good and yet it will be so sad that Michael will not be there. Time will keep on ticking and more changes will take place. We really must think of the good and lovely changes that are yet to be, we really must think about all the love  that is yet to be created and experienced.
Sadness will have its day for all of us, but sadness will not rule. Let us  take a page from Michaels book, the one he tried to read to each of us with his life , the page  that says Love, love deeply, no matter what always love. 

I have my ticket for home now, bought and paid for , and it is with West Jet, of which Michael would  fully understand. I want to go home but funny thing, as time goes on going home is no longer just 283 Mc Lean St. or Winnipeg,or  Stonewall, or Swan River it includes a place of love and beauty that no one still here has seen .  Yes, it is heaven, it is paradise, it is where we may be  reunited with those we have loved and who have left us to life. Michael has left us life  to live on to learn the lessons of life he fought hard to learn, and learn well.. I know he believed in this  beautiful loving home  beyond these walls we call the universe. Michael believed in God, he believed that where God is , is where our true home is. He loved God , and more importantly I know that I know that God loves Michael so very very much. And right now, where we can not see with these earthly eyes, God is so very very happy to welcome Michael home.