In my family, it's just me and my little brother. We are about 4 years apart, which means I was always watching out for him on the playground at school or trying to teach him important lessons in life like how to tie his shoes. The concept of him growing up never really hit me until my dad found a few home videos of my family at Disney World in 2006 on his desktop a few days ago.

I was 7 and my brother was 3, so I had a few things to teach him at the time (you know, being so old and wise). One video in particular featured my brother and I interacting with a talking trashcan. I kept telling him to go up to it and talk, but all he would do is jump up and down and flail his arms around. Throughout the years, we would fight and argue and I think I took that time for granted.

I suppose the true reason I am writing this article is because my brother's 16th birthday is this Sunday, and I am almost in disbelief. It feels almost as if I were 16 and in high school yesterday, but now it's my little brother's turn. We, of course, aren't as close as we used to be because I was away at school for a year. He's much more social than I was in high school, which I'm quite jealous of to be quite frank.

I think he's grown up and doesn't quite need my help as much any more. Maybe that's the reason it bothers me so much? Whatever the reason, I hope my baby brother enjoys his sixteenth birthday, eats lots of cake, and (hopefully) gets a better car than I did!