I'll be honest: when I was little, I wanted a sister, not brothers. I wanted another girl around, not just boys. Despite that, I wouldn't trade either of you for the world.
There's a lot that I don't tell either of you. Our relationships aren't exactly conducive to actually coming out and saying any of this. I don't mean that in a bad way; rather, we have the ways we behave around each other, and this doesn't fit that mold.
Ben:
We're so alike, you and I, more than either of us want to admit. You get me, usually. Or you call me weird. Or both. I deserve it, so. But, once again, we're the same in that. (Also, is it possible for you to take a selfie with me without making a weird face? I swear I have like three of us with you doing that same face)
We've always been close. Do you remember when we were younger and we would go into your room and shut the door— and then Sam would burst in and I would carry him out, kicking and screaming? We told him that you had to be double digits to be in our club, and he'd get so mad at us.
I think it's so funny, the way we communicate. We talk both so much and so little. I get on the phone with you and neither of us really say anything. But put us together— just us, no one else— and we'll talk for hours. Or texting; same thing. Band, DCI, puns about presidential candidates, anything; we have so much to talk about.
I've said this before, but I'm really glad that I got to share my last year of marching band with you.
One of my favorite memories from the entire season was after ACCs— we got off the field and Palmquist was talking to us, and you looked at me, held out your arms, and said, "bring it in." You don't do hugs, so that meant a lot. I think that you knew that I was upset over my last ACCs, too. And that picture of the two of us, that was your idea, too. It didn't end with marching band, either. Sharing jazz band, sharing pit orchestra—we spent a lot of time, if not directly together (percussion and woodwinds, interact during rehearsal? Heaven forbid!), doing the same thing. It gave us something to talk about as well.
Sam:
Hey, Small One! Ben and I are similar in personality, but you and I, we're the same in passion. You get what it's like to throw yourself into something— a book, a TV show, a topic of interest, something along those lines. And then, when we're interested in the same things, that's something we can talk about — although not necessarily like normal people— I mean, you challenged me to a Guns and Ships rap-off over the phone.
You give the best hugs; I have told people how my Small One gives the best hugs and how I want a hug from him.
My relationship with you is a bit different from my one with Ben, not just because you two have different personalities, but also because of the age gap. Five and a half years is a lot more than two and a half. That's why I'm a lot more silly with you, cuddling and things like that.
Both of you:
I don't tell you how proud I am of you guys. Watching you both grow and step outside of the boxes you've been put in for so long, watching your performances from afar (I so wish that I could be there in person!), hearing about all your adventures.
I really do miss you two, a lot. And I love you.
Love, Krista.
