For my brother

On Wednesday night after a long day of work I pulled up to WinCo to grab some quick groceries when I received a text from my brother Karl that said, "I got robbed today. I'm ok, please let mom and dad know. I will be on the news tonight. I'm in a meeting with a counselor right now." A rush of emotions filled through my body! I wanted to hold my brother, I wanted to see his face, I wanted to know what was going through his head, and I wanted to be with all of my family. I called my parents to let them know, heard them scramble for the remote, and then listen to them gasp and say, "That's Karl!" And then... they were silent with shock. My stomach was churning and I wanted to be with my parents right then to watch what they were watching, but at the same time, I wasn't sure if I could watch.

I got off the phone with them, rushed into WinCo, and basically walked around aimlessly. Derek was asking me, "Do we need this? Do we need that?" I honestly didn't care. I was thinking of my poor brother. I felt lifeless. I passed people and didn't see faces, I couldn't focus, and I couldn't listen to anything other than the millions of thoughts rushing through my head. I finally told Derek, "I don't care about this right now. My head isn't here, I just want to go home and watch the news." So Derek agreed and we grabbed what few groceries we had, I bagged them as fast as I could, and booked it out the door to my car.

I walked in the door and turned on the news. Immediately, they were playing the story of my brother. My brother is a teller at the Wells Fargo bank in Chubbuck, and a man and a woman came in about 3:20 on Wednesday afternoon. It showed their survelience pictures while waiting in line, and then their survelience cameras while Karl was getting robbed. Luckily it didn't show my brother's face b/c i don't think I could've handled it. It showed Karl's back and the 2 robber's faces. I don't know how many of you have ever seen someone threaten a family member's life on the news, but believe me, it's the worst feeling in the world. The camera was behind Karl, so it's almost as if experiencing it all through his eyes. My mind was immediately filled with anger towards these 2 criminals. How dare anyone threaten to kill my brother. How dare someone be that stupid and that selfish to take his life away in a flash. I wanted to hunt down these people, but most of all, I wanted to hear Karl's voice and know that he was ok.

I went outside to take the dog out after the news, and while I was shivering in the cold, but mostly shivering from shock, tears started streaming down my face and I started to bawl, and sob, and I couldn't stop. I felt so bad for my brother! I had the sickest feeling in my stomach that wouldn't go away. I wanted Karl to feel comfort. I knew all the feelings I was experiencing, so I couldn't even imagine what he was going through. I came inside and knew I needed to call my mom.

Karl had just called my mom and so I was able to hear the story. She said that the 2 robbers came in and looked really nervous about something. Karl asked them 3 times how they were doing and they ignored him all 3 times and wouldn't make eye contact with him. The lady then slipped a note to Karl that said something along the lines of, "The man behind me has a gun. He is watching you so don't even think about pushing the alarm button or he will kill you. Give us all your money." And then the man opened his jacket and showed Karl his gun. Bankers are taught what to do, so Karl did as taught and gave them the money, otherwise he would've been killed. The couple walked over to the mall parking lot, Karl told one person, and then when he knew they were far enough away he then sounded the alarm. Karl was interregated for 5 hours. He was in interviews all day with the police etc. The company made Karl see a counselor b/c this is going to affect him for the rest of his life. He called my mom at about 8pm, and my mom said he could barely talk. His voice was still shaking terribly and he was having a million things going on in his head.

I've been texting him and talking to him as much as I can, but right now, Karl is trying to deal with it himself. The next day he didn't leave his house b/c he didn't want to deal with a single person. Can you blame him? On Friday he went in to work for a bit b/c he wanted to face the fear and just get it over with. When I texted him he said he was ready to go home.

I haven't heard from him since. I know looking in from the outside sure it looks rough and scary, but you don't really know how tramatic it is, and how long it effects someone. You also don't realize the impact it has on the family. Their loved one had their life threatened. How would it be to be a mother to a child who still has a bright future ahead of him, and to watch on the news someone threaten to take his life in a blink of an eye. One of the hardest things for me right now is seeing my brother like this. My brother has always been the strong brave older brother that never cries and never gets scared, to watching him struggle with something and to be so shaken up is the hardest thing to watch. I know I can't take the pain away from him, but honestly he is handling this better than anyone else I know ever could. My brother is so brave and so amazing I love him with all that I have.

I haven't been sleeping much, and I can't stop thinking about Karl. I pray for him daily that he can feel comfort. And I also pray and give thanks endlessly that my brother is safe, and he isn't harmed! A witness was interviewed on the news and she thanked my brother for keeping everyone safe. She also called Karl her Christmas miracle. I think that he's my Christmas miracle too. Right now, my life is being looked at through a different perspective. I am overflowing with gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for my family and for their health and safety. That robbery could've turned fatal so fast, and I thank my Heavenly Father that it didn't. It is crazy that things on the news can happen to your family, and it is crazy that out of all the banks, and all the tellers they could've robbed, it was my brother that it happened to. I hate that it happened to him, but I'm grateful for the extreme amount of love that is being shared in my family right now. Us Maesers are extremely blessed right now.