I remember walking down my hallway not so long ago and stopping dead in my tracks. My younger twin brothers, Devin and Dylan, were standing in our hallway, tossing the family’s suitcases back into our attic. I was so taken back. A series of thoughts ran through my mind: When did they become so strong? They’re so tall. Where did these muscles come from? Wait, is that facial hair? When did my little brothers become not so little anymore? I remember them hitting their growth spurt sometime when they were 14 but all of a sudden, it hit me.

My favorite boys were turning into little men.

One of my earliest memories of my childhood is sitting on the couch with my hair in pigtails. My brothers were sitting on opposite sides of me, tugging my hair back and forth in between them. I remember trying to fight the both of them off. It turned into this big wrestling match on the living room floor. The wrestling match soon turned into a tickle fight, which resulted in us laying on the floor in a fit of giggles.

My brothers and I would play fight all the time. Being the older child, I was able to overpower them easily. I was taller. I was stronger. But now, it’s a whole different story. As we got older, things took a turn. Soon Devin was fending me off with one arm and Dylan was picking me up and tossing me on the couch to get me to stop. One thing that stayed the same was that our play fights always ended in massive fits of laughter.

You see, Devin and Dylan manage to bring out my absolute goofiest side but they also are there for me when I need them the most. My brothers are two of the very few people that always manage to cheer me up. Even when I’m angry at them, they still manage to make me smile and get me to somehow laugh. They’re my confidants, some of the best advice givers I know, and hands down my biggest supporters.

Even though they now tower over me, I will still protect them and defend them to my last breath. My life wouldn’t be the same without them and I’m so grateful that I have been blessed with the two of them. They might not be the little boys that I remember, but they’ll always be my baby brothers and my absolute best friends.