Happy Birthday Brother

Sunday evening, the sun had already sunk below the horizon as I headed home singing along to Coldplay in the car. I was thinking of my little brother, it was his 35th birthday and he was spending it in transit to his new job.

Thirty-five years ago my parents in their infinite wisdom decided that I needed a sibling. They never asked me, if they had, I would have indicated a preference for another puppy, I already had a perfectly good brother. I think it was explained to me that N was not in fact my brother but my cousin, well, I don’t know about that. For three years, I’m three years older than him, the little bugger had followed me around every waking moment of the day and night. He was my confidante, my partner in crime, my shadow and my alter-ego. We fought desperately but you could not stick a pin between us. So I guess it goes without saying that he’s still my brother today.

To no avail however, in the ensuing nine months my dog disappeared, the pregnant woman could not be around him. N disappeared briefly in the conflict surrounding his parent’s divorce. Needless to say, the new kid was not greeted with cries of joy from this quarter. He was a pale squalling kid; I have pictures to prove it. I couldn’t stand him and wanted him returned at all cost, I got N back though not the dog but the world was okay. What was I to do with this loud kid that I was so much older and wiser than?

We spent many years fighting, me trying to get away from him, he, trying to be my friend. I think there was some jealousy involved. I will admit neither of us had it easy and there were times when it got a little hairy. But, I found out that I did in fact like my little brother, in fact, I grew quite attached to the little rascal though you would have to pull my nails out to get me to admit it.

I’ve spent a great deal of my life looking out for him and I will admit, he looks out for me. I say unequivocally, there are few things that I will war over, but if you hurt my brothers or my dog, I will hunt you down and do damage. I’ve always known that he would be a star, and he is. I’m proud that he admits to having me as a sister. As he starts on his new adventure, I wish him all the best. Bro, you turned out real good, you've made my life a lot richer and I'm glad that you're here. I have no more advice but I’m always here for you. Note however, I do have a back up plan, notice the large hound. Happy Birthday!