Brother

My brother's name is Brother. It's not really, but that's what I call him, that's what my family calls him and that's what my friends call him, so it is his name. He cracks me up, he is seriously one of the funniest people I know. Brother and I can sit and have burgers and beers and talk and have a great time.

To me, one of the most special things about Brother, is that no matter what, him and I share the same history. He is the only person who has gone through most of the same experiences growing up as I have. He knows my parents quirks, he understands the endless inside jokes, he knows the sadness that I have had.

One of the funniest things I have ever seen was on New Years Eve two years ago. Brother had had a lot to drink. A lot. It was a crazy night. We had a party at our house, but Brother had gone to a couple of bars with our friends. At the first bar, he got into a fight (he was fine, it was more like a tussle). At the second bar, a guy committed suicide outside. Like I said, crazy night. Brother and our friends came back to our house. Our friends were leaving, but were crashing at another friend's house down the street. Brother had to stay at our place because he couldn't drive and no one was driving him home. He kept insisting that he was going home. He was going to walk. We live a good 15-20 minutes (driving) apart. There was no way he was going to walk. I kept trying to put him to bed in the spare bedroom, but he was being stubborn and kept getting up. I figured that I would hide his jacket and scarf so that he couldn't leave. I was standing in the kitchen picking up trash when he walks in. He says he is leaving and out of the corner of my eye, I see he is wearing a coat. I am thinking "how the hell did he find that?!?!" when I look up. He is wearing one of my jackets. It is so small, he can't move his arms. The sleeves are barely past his elbows. He can't zip it up.

I was in the fetal position, I was laughing so hard. I told him he couldn't leave because he was wearing my jacket. He says "I am not!", throws the jacket down, stomps off and passes out. I could've died!

Brother is awesome because he chooses to support me, no matter what I decide, but he doesn't want to get involved. I wish more people could be like that. I once tried to talk about what was going on in my relationship. He pledged his support, but said that he chooses to "concentrate on a brother/sister relationship." Some people might think that is harsh, but to me, it was perfect. Everyone wants to tell me what to do and it was nice to hear from someone who didn't.

I know that I am lucky. A lot of people don't have the kind of brother I have. Granted, he is not perfect, but he always cheers me up.

On a day like today, having a burger and a beer with Brother was just what I needed.

THANK YOU BROTHER!