Happy Birthday Brother of Mine!

Today is a wonderful day as it is the day my truly awesome, smart, loving, hilarious, fun-loving brother was born. 

I'm not so sure my sentiment was quite the same twenty some years ago.  You see, my brother is older than me and I was reminded of this daily during our young exisistence.  Let's just say I adored him...and he tortured me...as older brothers typically do.  My mom likes to re-count the story of how, when I was little, she walked in and saw that my brother was seconds from dropping a big plastic truck on my head.  That was just the beginning.  I can remember being about 6 or so and my brother tempting me to thrust a stick into a hornets nest.  Of course I did (he told me to!) and suffered wasp stings all over my body.  I can also remember almost drowning in the pool once because he thought it would be funny to lay on a raft and hold me under it.  I can also remember when he had a birthday party and he and all of his friends found my stuffed animals (my pride and joy at the time) and destroyed them.  It was the saddest thing ever.

My brother has more than made up for all of the abuse he put me through when we were younger.   Through our adult years, my brother has been a constant source of support and love. He has encouraged me to do things I would've never thought I was capable of.  He was my strength during our parents divorce.  He has helped me through some serious computer problems (he's amazing with computers by the way) and some serious life problems.  Even when he had his own personal problems, he made time for me. 

I like to compare my brother to a big, warm, fuzzy teddy bear.  You want to hug him when you see him and you just want to be around him.  He is a good soul and I couldn't have asked for a better brother.  So, on this day, I would like to wish him the most wonderful birthday ever!  You are a gift to me and I love you!  Now go eat a piece of cake for me!