Oh Jo, I can understand your situation as I have been in one similar. You have been the better person in sending texts for special occasions & maybe he has finally realised that he was being a dick & he won't have anyone if he continues! Maybe send him another text and see if you get an answer again & if you do ring him and ask him if he wants to catch up for coffee or something - somewhere neutral in case it all goes to shit! Thinking of you hunni

Teshia xxoo

i totally agree with you on this one..
i believe that every family has its problems and after having alisha, i understand how sometimes parents can make mistakes but all that matters is NOW...
from what it sounds, your mother has changed, and i totally commend you on standing up to your brother regarding this issue :)

i think its great that your brother replied back..
i think that maybe in the last 2 years he must have done some soul searching...
or maybe realised that maybe he was a bit wrong about everything...
i think it's quite possible that he's been wanting to contact you for a while now, because he replied back to your sms quite quick...  this could be a sign that maybe he has changed...
i didn't talk to someone for quite some time and when i approached them, they told me that they had wanted to contact me, but felt too ashamed about what they had done and too scared to contact me...

i'm thinking, if you like, maybe try to keep the conversation going and ask something like:
"no problem. what did you do for your birthday? had a beer or two? lol"
if you make a joke, it might break the ice a little...

just remember, do whatever makes you comfortable..
if you feel that it's not yet the right time, then leave it be for a while..
but speaking from the perspective of someone who isn't extremely close to their elder brother, i know how it feels to have tension within the family.. and all i can say is, when my brother is at least civil or polite to me, i do the same..
a lot of stuff has happened in my life, but at the end of the day, he's still my brother, and i'm gonna love him no matter what... lately, i've been trying my best to talk to him and his wife and it seems that it's been working, because they've been polite in return !

the way i see it, me and my brother will probably always have issues, but i'd rather be civil to him and know that i at least tried... i just don't want things to go on the way they did and for me to hold regrets once he's gone...

but yeah, here i am rambling again (it's ok, because you said u like it :P haha) but yeah, i hope i helped....
at the end of the day, all i am is giving u a bit of advice, i want you to do what you feel is right and what you are ready for :)

good luck !!! xox

YAY!  I sure hope his knicker are being untwisted, because it must be squeezing his nuts and making him cranky!

Good on you for making the effort, I am glad it was rewarded... Perhaps he was having a totally crap time at work, and took it out on you guys. 

Have a great week Jo xox

Hmm Good for you and he sure does sounds like a Knob... I personally would wait and see if he contacts you again and play it by ear.. Life is short to short to what IF..

Hope in time he comes around and speaks to you....

xxx cazza