Brother-in-Arms

My brother is the bomb. He's amazing. He is so different from my other siblings. He's a boy, first of all. And second, he's younger than me. And yes, that's a BIG difference from my other two siblings. They are girls. And older than me.


I'd like to say I can boss him around. But he's, like, 10 feet tall! OK, maybe only 6-foot-something. But I'm 5-foot-nothing. So bossing him around is not really an option. OK, it is, because he is like the biggest teddy bear on the planet. Except when he thinks he's right. Then it's like talking to a wall. A little-brother-who's-taller-than-you-wall, but a wall nonetheless.


We spent 3 hours on Sunday -- Mother's Day -- together. He came to my crooked house and re-arranged furniture, helped me organize and generally made this place a little more like home for me.


We had such a good time together. After it all, we loaded up on munchies, got some rum and headed to my mom's where my little niece was. We were grinning ear-to-ear.


Our balloon was busted for a bit when we first arrived. But then he fixed up her lawnmower and mowed her lawn while I picked up doggy poo-poo with his baby girl. And then all was right with the world.


It always hits me when I see them together what a dad he is. He is just...natural. As is my sister-in-law. They are great parents.


As for my brother, that little kid follows him around and yells "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" over and over again. She watches everything he does. She waves to him as he walks by with the very loud, very big lawn mower.


I'm so proud of him.