Every Girl Needs a Big Brother

Every girl needs a big brother. 

Someone to protect you, watch over you, tease you, and love you only like a big brother can. 

Someone to wrap duck tape around your talking, stuffed Barney’s mouth and leave it on your bed. 

Someone to ruin your doll house to create a G.I. Joe stop-motion movie, by sticking pieces of scotch-tape all over it, so he can put back dots on them, so it looks like the house is shot up, but then the tape never comes off. 

Someone to fight with over who gets to control the car radio and always winning so you have to listen to his rock music, but secretly you enjoy learning all the band’s names and being proud you can rattle them off.

Someone who has his own improv band in the house, that requires everyone to stack mattresses against the door to keep out the sound.

Someone who threatens you with a bucket of ice water on your head if you don’t trade the Monopoly property. 

Someone who takes you to a major theme park for your birthday, just the two of you, and then brings you home the long way through the neighborhood, super slow, while she’s laughing her head off about how slow they are moving, not knowing the rest of the family is setting up her surprise present. 

Someone you can leave drawings and notes for on his pillow every night.

Someone who makes you an aunt by giving you your first treasured nephew.

Someone to teach you about computers, movies, dancing, and music.

Someone to encourage you to take risks. 

Someone to have the strength to tell you that your precious"Grammy" has gone into the hospital because of a stroke and probably won't be going home. 

Someone to sit next to you, sing with you, and cry with you at your "Poppy's" funeral. 

Someone to travel across the country and rescue you from the emotional and traumatizing strain of watching their father go through an open-heart surgery. 

Someone who makes sure you never get old and stay his little sister forever. 

And, someone for you to look up to and still treasure every hello, every hug, every lesson, every laugh, every memory.

I'm so grateful for this big brother in my life. When I was little, my mom taught me that whenever I was frustrated by the teasing of my big brother to just say in my head "biiiiiig brothers, they're sooooo wonderful." Today, I saw it again, but this time with great love and respect and admiration - big brother, you ARE so wonderful! 

Happy Birthday Christopher!! I love you more than you'll ever know and hope you had the wonderful day that you deserve!