As your 26th birthday approaches, I find myself reflecting on our relationship. My favorite childhood memories almost always involve you. You were there for everything. You were there when we were carted back and forth between our parents, when we got involved in mischief like throwing the Barbie doll head in the dryer, and every school change. I always had you by my side and together we were an unstoppable force.
I love listening to other people's memories of us as children. How they said in daycare we were a team you didn't want to mess with. If someone was messing with one of us, the other was quick to intervene. Or when I was hospitalized as an infant and didn't really interact with anyone, but when you came through the door I was quick to have you crawl on the bed with me.
The older we grew the better my memories of the two of us got. I remember during the fall we had to rake leaves and we would end up playing in them for hours instead of putting them in bags. I remember arguing over who had to shovel the snow in the driveway or on the stairs. The summers when we would spend hours playing outside riding our bikes around the block, playing basketball or playing floor hockey in the garage. I remember spending hours playing PlayStation and being so competitive with each other. I remember when the days of playing would turn into nights of me sleeping on your futon because we didn't want to be apart. I remember going to great-grandmas without you and having to grab an extra cookie for you. You going to college was my hardest goodbye. Being thousands of miles away from you is my biggest heartache, but I know you're happy there and that's all I want.
There are thousands of more memories I could share but that would take forever. I couldn't think of anything to get you for your birthday so I thought of telling you how much you mean to me. How thankful I am to have you as my big brother. No words in this world could express how much I love you. As long as we have each other there is nothing we can't get through. I am your sidekick. I'm always right there even when you can't see me. I love you so much and I hope you have the most amazing birthday and I can't wait to celebrate my graduation with you in a few weeks.
All the hugs and kisses in the world!
