The Life in His Years

I was in the store sifting through birthday cards for my brother and realized two things:  none of the cards came close to express my love and admiration; furthermore, he is extremely environmentally conscious and would deem it a waste of resources to send a card.   So here is my environmentally friendly birthday celebration to my friend, my confidant – my brother.

Abraham Lincoln once said “It’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.”  The manner in which my brother lives his life echoes this philosophy . . . 

Before he was born, I thought he was a turkey (and on numerous later occasions, I held the same view!).  He was the inspiration for my very first writing composition in which I tell the story of my mother’s surprise delivery – a turkey.  You see, his birthday falls very close to Thanksgiving, I scribbled this out days before he was born, and I was apparently overly eager about both upcoming celebrations.  I remember vividly driving home from my stay at Grandma and Grandpa’s, terribly anxious to see my baby brother as my parents delivered him from the hospital.  I stared in awe over the adorable bundle that was going to stay forever in our house.  I could not hold him enough.

He quickly became my ‘bestest’ bud.   By age two and a half (no exaggeration), I had him playing board games meant for much older children.  Which Witch is Which?, PayDay, Aggravation, What Shall I Wear? (hence, his current fashion sense), and Clue were some of the many favorites.  By age five, he was my student as we played school.  Complete with a blackboard and a desk, I would prepare worksheets, passages to read, or one of my favorites: a “Guess What Sound This Is” oral quiz where he’d identify sounds I recorded around the house.  Ask him and he’ll tell you he attributes a significant portion of his intelligence today to these childhood games.

One will never hear the word pretentious in the same sentence as my ‘little’ bro’s name.  He strikes up conversations with every person he meets (a film star he runs into at the gym, the stranger sitting behind him at a Cubs game, or a CEO of a major corporation) in the same friendly, approachable manner.  He’s the type of person people like to be around because he’s not afraid to be himself.  People almost immediately sense the excitement in his voice when he’s engrossed in conversation.  He’s used that excitement to his advantage, never afraid to chase his dreams.  Upon graduating from Georgetown with his Masters, for instance, he practiced law for a while – something he talked about for quite some time growing up.  Upon realizing he held other goals that suited him better, he created a complete career turn-around and climbed his way up in the online gaming industry until he became VP for a major international corporation.  Today, he still consults for this corporation while entrepreneuring his own company from the ground up.  But that’s not all . . . During this time frame, he somehow managed along the way to earn his real estate license, begin to write a novel, take classes to learn Japanese, and is now teaching himself Russian.  When my brother decides he wants to do something, he doesn’t simply contemplate it; he takes action.  He truly lives life to the fullest.

As I watch my daughter blossom into a beautiful young woman, I see that same joie de vivre mirrored in her quest for knowledge.  Words can’t express how delighted I am that the friendship my brother and I shared growing up has carried through to the special bond shared between my daughter and her uncle.  He’s always been the one she goes to when she’s looking for a, perhaps, more objective point of view ( 🙂 ).    My daughter is doubly lucky to have her uncle and her aunt (his beautiful, smart, talented wife) as role models.  I don’t know of two people more compatible and deserving of each other than my bro and sis-in-law.

Despite our five year difference, my brother and I have easily remained close.  We live miles away yet never a week goes by when we don’t talk, text, email or Skype.  We recently talked about this blessing and agreeably attribute our ability to get along so well to our mother.  She raised us with a fierce, protective love that we carried through to each other and now to our own children.

My buttons burst as I watch my brother fervently take on his new role as father.  I am just as proud watching him lovingly care for his daughter as I am watching my beautiful baby niece grow.  I am so grateful he and his wife brought Skylar May into this world. I love her like I love him – unconditionally deeply. My brother is THE Mr. Mom, making his wife spicy breakfast burritos while she feeds the baby, painting a Dr. Seuss character on the nursery wall, or walking the trails with his family as they workout together. It’s fun to witness him in this role!

Happy Birthday, “B.R.”  I love you very much.  Thank you for being the best brother a sister could have.  Love, Your Very Favorite Sis