HAPPY 41ST BIRTHDAY RKM

 Everyone's  birthday  in our household was a big deal, we were that  family, honestly  we are  still  that  family. Mommy and Daddy still do the early morning phone call, yes the phone call  comes at  5-5:30AM, 6AM if they slept late.It will be the first call you receive,  theirs will be the  first voices you hear even if you are  married with children of your own. If we happen to all be together then we know that whomever is celebrating their birthday  will be getting the age equivalent  in punches with the finally punch leaving the most impact... OUCH!!
 Growing up October  20th  was always an important  day because  it was  Rohan's birthday  and we would hear the story of the firstborn's birth; he was a crier at birth, he needed to be fed ASAP and the small hospital sized  Similac/S-26 formula  wouldn't  do it,the new mother had to stay with her mother to get the hang and learn the vital skills of motherhood, daddy was so excited about his son...He was serious about  his food, he wouldn't drink any other formula except  for Similac or S-26, he crawled on his tummy every where but somehow avoided getting a single scratch, he was inquisitive and got into a lot of trouble... picking all the baby oranges from the tree.

He was the first born, the first grandson  for both sides of the family and he was loved by every aunt, uncle cousin,friend, church member and the list goes on and on. He was the best big brother to Christine who he loved  dearly as his baby sister, his love for her was only  overshadowed by his need  to play with his friends  or  to regain mommy's attention even for just  a minute...He was her defender and protector in every and anything as they  grew  to adore each other, even in the unanimous  decision that it was indeed a good idea to bathe the cat.( That is never a good idea..:-))
He hated wearing a shirt when he was indoors and he always made everyone feel comfortable  whenever they came to our house. His favorite fruit was ripe bananas and  loved to eat bread  with butter. His favorite pass time; sliding on old cardboard boxes down the steep hill  not too far  from our house and playing football(soccer). He was daddy's helper, mommy's confidant, Chris's savior and a friend  to everyone he met irrespective of their  age.

I know, I know  this sounds  like a mystical ,magical being. No one could really  be all of these  things to all these  people  and only  lived for 10  years. If you  are  having any of these delusional ,doubtful thoughts, you  would be very  wrong ,because  this amazing  person was  my/our  brother  ROHAN KEIL MILLER. I was  far too  young to remember  him and our younger brother has grown up with  stories, pictures and tales of this person who was such a major  part of our family. These  stories  and memories  weren't just  from our parents or sister who had the pleasure of growing up with him, it came  from everyone who  knew  him and that  always  made  me  feel  that  he was a part  of me, I was also  Rohan's little sister. Though  I can't  remember  him, believe me I  have tried to jog my memory, I was called Rohan's and Christine's little sister  for most of my  life  or "Bandun" by  his school friends  because he told them  that  I had that special  name for dumplings. I am  sure  if  I see  Andrew( one of  my brothers') friends  at this point  he would say  " What a gwaan bandun" :-)

Other  significant memories came  from our cousin  who still refers to him as her  best  friend 31 years  after  his death  or seeing  my grandmother and aunts cry when they  talk  about  him.Our dear family friend Mr. Ledgister who was a retired returning resident, was a friend to our brother, he was probably 65 when Rohan was 9 and  they would talk  for hours about life and travels since Mr.Ledgister had lived in Paris before returning to Jamaica. Not many 9 year olds  can have serious thought provoking conversations about life, war,the future and traveling to far away places.

The memories are never sad, they are  always focused  around how unique this young, gifted, vibrant,loving boy was and I am  always honored and eager to hear the stories and form my own opinion of the person he was based on these wonderful memories. We  are  all honored  to be his younger siblings,our mom always told us  that  we all have some of his traits; Chris  is warm and loving like Rohan, Jan is the talker who  makes friends easily like Rohan and Shawn  loves sports and always  has a large group of friends around, like Rohan. We have continued  to  share the legacy  of our brother with the next  generation and remind them that   October 20th is Uncle Rohan's Birthday.

This is a love post, dedicated  to  our brother whom we  love and miss  in  so many ways, we want to  wish him  a  very  happy  birthday. We  are so grateful  that our parents  kept his memory  alive  by  telling us the  stories of their  firstborn, never  taking down  his pictures or the last mothers day card and crafts  he  made. Cherishing each memory and telling it with such relevance that  we could feel his presence, he was never  our brother who died, he is our brother.
We are  thankful  to the strangers  who became our friends  and looked out for us because of who he  was  and  humbled  that  he  is still  able to impact the lives of children and adults  after  so many  years through this foundation.

HAPPY 41st  BIRTHDAY BIG BRO, WE  ARE  STILL LISTENING AND LEARNING FROM YOUR STORIES.