Brotherly Birthday

Shout out today to an amazing brother!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!  

I am sure my brother will be slightly embarrassed when he realizes I truly did write a post about him and dedicated to him.  However, he is definitely one of the people who has shaped who I am.  To be sure this is anonymous we will just call him, "Tom and Mary's Masterpiece." He has always had a knack for lightening the mood.  While I am not sure he is always the best at shrugging off his own dilemas, he is great at helping me through mine. He has been a guide through new and scary places, he has parted waters for my future, left a trail of bread crumbs, been a crutch to lean on, or shared a much needed laugh.  Since we were young our mother liked to say we had a, "love hate" relationship.  Well I would like to say love won out!"

His younger years involved some of the following moments:

• Kicking my crib upon my arrival into our house and once I began crying, declaring to my parents, "See! She is bad. Now take her back!"
• Pulling tricks like telling his preschool teacher his mom didn't have time to feed him lunch, to get himself a second helping of that days wonderful snack and causing my mom to have some suspicious glances.
• Sweat pants were always worn with the elastic hiked up above his knees onto his scrawny chicken leg thighs.
• Marinera sauce was often covering his face from the meatball sub, Schwan's personal pizza, or pizza burst he had recently devoured.  Although this sauce was the only evidence that he had ever eaten as he was a very slender child.
• Terrifying us by choking often on food.  Specifically Harlen's chicken. Or the time he past from swallowing an orange pushup to fast and our mom took his unconscious body running through the back yard toward the hospital only to wake up halfway there with orange sherbet running out of his nose.
• He named me"Little Jiggy" so fondly when I was a toddler and getting into his precious legos and GI Joes.  
• The time he cam home from school and told our mom that the girls got in big trouble and had to watch a movie about constipation. 

Entering into those teen years I think he gave our parents a run for their money.

• At this point he had already had many health scares, but in 8th grade he did get pushed off a railing by a girl and that resulted in the staples in the back of his head. He eventually had a few knee surgeries, and multiple other incidents resulting in stitches. I am surprised DHS never showed up at our house?
• One incident resulted in his head being wrapped by a teammate in soo much gauze that he couldn't fit a baseball helmet on.  He also had surgery for an overactive thyroid, that he continued to blame for why he occasionally fell asleep in his class until I accidentally ratted him out to Mr. Bowman. 
• Rearranging Christmas lawn decorations.  Don't worry it was after one of those knee surgeries, so he just drove the get away car.
• Emerging from his room with navy, black, and brown all in his outfit and asking, "This matches right?" (okay so he is color blind but seriously)
• Getting lost in England (me), riding in the police car (anonymous), running with the bulls (you), letting your little sister tag along on your semester abroad was extremely nice of you.  Oh yeah, remember that flight home... "I'm not touching you!" 

Now he is a mature adult who resides in Indianapolis conducting himself in an always respectable manor, never partaking in any "hood rat things."

Seriously though, he has always been that brother that is protective when he needed to be.  He ensured Jordan was a good guy way back in high school when he chose to clean his gun at the table when Jordan came to pick me up for our first date. (Okay so it is hard to take him serious, but really!) He was a guide to me in many instances.  Entering into high school, college, traveling abroad, and many other new experiences   He took many falls that helped me to know just how far you could push before my parents would break.  He showed me how to make the most of opportunities that present themselves.  He is proof that you should never settle.  He is generous, and as the Leader in Me would point out, he is always thinking Win-Win, and finding ways to put others first. He is also a very strong and tough individual I am sure that may have been impacted by our other brother and his friends relentless tormenting and taunting.  He has always been wise for his years, and I am sure that will never change.  He is one of a kind and I am lucky to have him in my life.  I am sad that I won't get to see him blow out his candles and make a wish, but hopefully all his dreams for this year become a reality! 

Love you Brother!!!!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!!!

p.s. Happy May Day and your card is in the mail as of today :)