My brother Andrew and I were born just 15 months apart. Today he is turning 34. Dude, we are old!
Because he and I are the closest in age I have a lot more memories (and a lot more pictures, see below) of him growing up than I do my other brothers. Some of my memories are of us fighting (I really hated his radio on when I was trying to go to sleep at night), but most of the memories are good. Here are just a few of my favorites......
- Sneakily snapping the legs and arms off the homemade gingerbread boys that hung on the Christmas tree as ornaments, hiding under the bed to snack on the broken limbs while Mom and Dad napped in the other room.
- Eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and playing Connect Four all night on Christmas Eve, while listening for Santa's footsteps upstairs. (I also remember the bad heart burn I got from eating all the peanut butter cups, terrible!)
- Waking up suddenly in the middle of the night to the sound of a loud crash. Going into Andrew's room and finding him dazed, the shelf above his bed off the wall, and everything on it scattered all over the room. He was dreaming he was a waiter and the shelf was his tray. Andrew did crazy things in his sleep. SO many crazy things.
-For some strange reason I thought that wearing my brother's clothes to school was cool and Andrew never complained about me wearing his shirts. I always loved him for that.
- Going to see "Mrs. Doubtfire" together at Trolley North theater and flicking candy and popcorn at the screen during the movie. Also biting the heads off our gummie bears and sticking them to the backs of the seats in front of us. I don't think we caught much of that movie.
- And a more recent memory, involving Bajio burritos for lunch and a paint stirring stick, but that's all anyone is going to hear about that story on this blog! Let just say, I don't think I've laughed so hard in my entire life.
Andrew has some very good qualities. Here are a few I particularly like......
-He's considerate about other peoples feelings. He doesn't like to hurt anyone. He can be very tenderhearted.
-He works hard at whatever he does and is somewhat of a perfectionist. I appreciate perfectionism.
-He's calm and easy to be around. Never in your face.
-He sees beauty in the world and is very artistic. He just started teaching art at a Junior High school this year. It's been a challenge for sure, but I know he's up for it.
-He calls me "Beans," short for Jilly Bean, and I like it. It's endearing.
-He's a great husband and father. His wife and daughter love him!
- He's kind to animals. He even loves his creepy cat Chippy.
-He's a handsome devil.
Check it out.....
See the pockets in Andrew's jacket. Those are were we stuffed the gingerbread boy limbs after we broke them off. Then under the bed for snack time!
First day of 5th grade for me, 4th grade for Andrew
At the MTC
Just this July with his daughter Emily
Happy Birthday Andrew. I'm glad you're my brother. I love you.
5 comments:
Those pictures are precious. Andrew sounds like a cool brother to have.
I really like it that you write something nice for people on their birthdays.
...mine is May 28th. :) :) :)
I can't believe Chippy is still alive. Sometimes I still have nightmares about that cat.
I like Andrew because he's hilarious and really, exceptionally laid back and nice. Happy birthday!
I really love the pictures in this post. Especially the first one where you (a baby) are being handed another baby. Looks familiar.
Happy Birthday Andrew! I hope it was a good one.
I agree with everything you said that makes Andrew wonderful. I love him even more than you do. Happy Birthday my boy!
What a great post about a great brother. I loved all the pictures of the two of you. That first one is quite something- a baby holding another baby. Your mother is a saint.
Post a Comment