Tomorrow is my brother’s birthday. I’ve been thinking about him a lot this week as he prepares to leave his 20’s for good. Because I’m only 18 months younger than him, I will soon follow. I was always glad to be able to follow in his footsteps, grateful he led the way for me to have the courage to survive many of life’s exciting adventures with the simple reassurance, “Hey, he did this and survived. I can too.” I wanted to be like him in so many ways- academically (he was always far more academically adept than I was…), socially, artistically, intellectually, etc. etc. etc.
I won’t bore you with endless memories of talking together, playing together, being together. But rest assured, I feel lucky to have been thrown together to experience mortality. Despite his dangling my dolls from the top bunk (“She’s gonna jump, Katy! She’s gonna jump!”), hiding the last popsicle in the freezer, kicking the ladder over after he had scurried up the maple tree behind me (he could jump down, I was too scared…), sliding off the teeter totter while I was 8 feet in the air so I could plummet to an evening with a sore rear end, and countless other appropriately “big brother” behaviors, I totally love the guy.
Here’s to many more years of big-brotherness. Happy Birthday, Mike.
I won’t bore you with endless memories of talking together, playing together, being together. But rest assured, I feel lucky to have been thrown together to experience mortality. Despite his dangling my dolls from the top bunk (“She’s gonna jump, Katy! She’s gonna jump!”), hiding the last popsicle in the freezer, kicking the ladder over after he had scurried up the maple tree behind me (he could jump down, I was too scared…), sliding off the teeter totter while I was 8 feet in the air so I could plummet to an evening with a sore rear end, and countless other appropriately “big brother” behaviors, I totally love the guy.
Here’s to many more years of big-brotherness. Happy Birthday, Mike.
2 comments:
Yeah, and who's the one working on the PhD? :) Well, about the ladder and teeter-totter--you're right. I think I was born with a gene for 'teasing' and I got most everyone's share. And to think that climbing down the cherry tree made you face fears and made you a stronger person as did the teeter-totter, except the 'stronger' was more in the way of butt calluses.
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! How cute is that picture--and the sentiment! I laughed out loud--I remember Mike doing all that crap to you and feeling really glad it was you he was picking on and not me. Oh the blessings of being older...
Love You!l
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