When I was three years old, I was told by my parents that they were expecting another baby. Oh how excited I was! Each day my parents would ask me what I was hoping for. “A baby sister!” is what I would anxiously say. How fun would it be to have my very own living barbie doll? Dress her up in cute clothes, put makeup on her, brush her hair at night, watch Barney with her? It was everything I was hoping for and more.
However, within an instant my dreams were shattered... I was getting a little brother. The next 16 years was dedicated to a pest that lived with me, annoyed me and got me into trouble. My little brothers very presence was enough to make me go mad. It wasn’t until I was about 17 that I realized my brother was the greatest gift my parents could have given me. These are the reasons why I’m ever so thankful for him in my life:
1. He’ll tell me the God’s honest truth from a boy’s perspective without holding back.
Relationship advice sounds like a weird thing to talk about with your little brother. But, believe it or not, my brother gives me some of the best advice I’ve heard. As a girl it’s common to overthink every little thing a guy does. "He stared at me for 5 seconds!" Does that mean something? He doesn’t use emojis ever, that means he hates me right?? Sometimes it’s nice to have my brother to tell me I’m annoying and no guy puts as much effort as I assume they should.
2. He’s the best secret keeper.
All my life I was a good girl. I never partied, never smoked, never did anything that was deemed as bad behavior. Until I was 18. All hell broke loose when I decided to throw parties at my house when my mom wasn’t home. Even though my brother would tell me it wasn’t a good idea, he never once tattled on me, even though he had all the power in his hands to do so. He could have seen me live in misery but decided to be the bigger person and not do anything about it. When I finally did get caught by my mom, my brother was the first one to tell me it would be alright, and that my mom couldn’t stay mad forever.
3. He’ll always let me have my way.
From the moment he was born I’ve always been the one to call the shots. What we would eat for dinner, what we would watch at the movies. Everything. Now that we’re older he still lets me decide what we’re gonna do, where we’re gonna go, everything. Even if it’s something he absolutely doesn’t want to do, he gives me the happiness to choose what I want.
4. He’s the first to sense the douchebag.
Whenever I’m head-over-heels for a guy he’s the first person to notice their flaws and tell me when a guy is or isn’t good enough for me. Sometimes it’s an annoyance, but if I didn’t listen to him sometimes, God knows where I would be and what my love life would look like at this point in time.
5. He’s the only person I can vent to about family issues.
Sure I have my best friend who knows absolutely every detail about my family dynamics. But as an outsider, it’s hard for her to see the annoyance I have towards my extended family sometimes. My brother fills that gap when I can vent to him about the latest Facebook post my uncle put on my wall, or the annoying voicemail one of our cousins left us.
6. He has never been ashamed of me.
Sometimes having older siblings in school leaves a bad taste in teachers mouths by the time a younger sibling comes around. Luckily teachers loved me in school which made it easier for my little brother. Every year since his sophomore year, after the first couple days of school, my brother will call me and let me know about my former teacher that tells him to let me know they miss me and hope I’m doing well. Whenever teachers ask if he’s my younger brother, he anxiously says yes. Maybe that’s why he gets such good grades in school.
7. He always goes above and beyond for me.
Whenever I’m relaxing and I’m too lazy to do things for myself (which is pretty much always) I can always count on my brother to run and grab me a glass of water. Or a cookie from the pantry. Or grab the remote from the other side of the couch so I can watch the latest episode of the Kardashians. Mainly he does it to shut me up so I’ll stop whining, but deep down it’s out of love.
8. I’ve always had a playground partner.
From running around outside playing in our ginormous yard to running around town together, we’ve always had one another to keep ourselves entertained. There’s no one else I’d rather play Hot Lava Monster with.
9. We have a secret language.
When he was younger he had a terrible speech impediment, and I was the only one who could understand him. Everyone had to ask me what he was talking about. Now that we’re older, and he’s thankfully grown out of it, we still have that secret language. We constantly exchange looks when our mom is irritating us. Or when we have to hear another one of Grandpa’s stories about his time in Vietnam. Uggh.
10. We have so much in common.
He plays football, and I was his football manager. He plays basketball, and I was his basketball manager. I was senior class senator in leadership, and he took leadership with me. I was a YoungLife leader, and he was involved in YoungLife. We did everything together during my senior year, his freshman year. Or you could see it as me micro managing his entrance into high school, but you know. We were together a lot.
11. Food is always a deal breaker.
Those rare times that I don’t get my way usually end up working in my favor when a payment of pizza is offered. Not to mention one of my favorite memories with my brother is going to Kelly’s to get breakfast every Saturday morning after football/basketball games.
12. We can judge each other’s significant others without either of us getting too offended.
I can openly tell him when his girlfriend is an annoying b***h and he can openly tell me when the guy I’m talking to is a a douche. It’s just us being honest.
13. He makes me look good in front of extended family.
Naturally my brother hates talking about himself, so when people ask how I’m doing, he takes on that topic and updates them on all the positives going on in my life. He could talk about me for hours it seems like. Thanks bro!
14. He’s my BFF for life.
Whether we like to admit it or not, we’re gonna be together for our entire lives. He’s my built-in best friend who was there to experience all my first milestones and will continue to be there throughout everything I encounter in life.
I guess if I could go back in time I would tell that little three year old not to be too disappointed about not getting a little sister. Having a little brother in my life is the best gift my parents ever gave me, and I’m forever thankful for that.
