Hey Bud,

It seems like just yesterday I held you in my arms while you could barely even open your eyes. Heck, it seems like just yesterday you were only a nameless speck on a fuzzy black and white picture.

Back then I could only imagine how important you would be to me. I had so many questions. Was I going be a good role model for you? Would you like me? Would I have to share a room with you? How often would I have to change your diapers? And was I even ready for you? As the days grew closer to meeting you, my stomach was constantly in knots with both fear and excitement. But when you arrived, all of those questions and anxieties melted away, and probably for the first time in my life, everything felt right with this crazy world.

Now the years have gone by and you're starting to grow up on me. Every year you ask for a different kind of birthday party. You started to like sports and talk to me about all the friends you are making. Each year, you experience a new grade full of adventures and opportunities. I’ve seen you go from diapers, to Spiderman undies, to plain and simple Fruit of the Loom. I know I’m embarrassing but what can I say, that’s my job. I’m your older sibling and for better or for worse, I'll always be here for you. I'll be here to put Band-Aids on your wounds, to tuck you into bed, to take you to practices, and to pick you up from sleep overs. And that’s just for now. I’ll be here to take pictures at your prom and at your graduation, to hold your hand with every college letter you open, and to pop the confetti when you finally decide. But I won't just be around for those times. I’ll be here to remind you that a GPA is just a number and it’s not who you are, that when your heart gets broken it simply means now you have more space for someone better, I’ll wipe your tears and remind you how proud I will always be of you.

The bond between siblings is simply something that can't be explained.

Yeah, you get on my nerves and sometimes I don’t even want to deal with you, but I’ll never leave you. Maybe it’s that adorable smile, or the laughs we’ve shared and the memories I cherish. Or maybe it’s just our gosh darn DNA. But, nobody can dispute how lucky I am to have a little brother like you. How lucky I am to have someone like you to share all the embarrassing stories at my wedding. How lucky I am to have a little brother who makes me want to be the best version of myself, so that you will want the same. You see I may mess up, I may hit hard times, and I may not always be at my best. But if there is something I can always count on, it’s having you around to make even the cloudiest day seem full of hope and adventure.

I am so lucky to have a little brother like you.