My Brother

Today my brother Kyle turns 30. I realize I haven't talked much about him here, which is no indication of how much I think about him, he's on my mind and in my prayers constantly.

Me, Kyle, and his son, the best nephew ever, Noah

His first name is actually Benjamin, I'm glad my parents decided to call him by his middle name. Nothing against the name Benjamin, but I think Kyle really fits him, and is not all that common. Until I was somewhere around 6, we shared a bedroom. To some people this sounds weird, but it was perfectly normal to us. We slept in bunk beds and at night, when we were supposed to be going to sleep, we'd play tug-of-war with a Grover stuffed animal that had super long extremities. One day, we pulled him apart and that was the end of tug-of-war.

He is one of the most intelligent people I know. Seriously, his IQ is off the charts. He was one of those really smart kids that wasn't challenged enough and sometimes gave his teachers a hard time.

When we were younger, I always looked up to him and wanted to do everything the exact way he did. We'd frequent the candy aisle in 7-11, before the days when sugar was declared bad for you, and I'd refuse to pick something first. I would stand back calmly and patiently, waiting for him to make his choice. As soon as he did I would immediately pick the exact item he had chosen. It drove him crazy.

We fought a lot until high school. Then we moved from the fight all the time brother-sister relationship to being friends. He was super protective of me, and I loved it. I was, "Kyle's little sister" and being called that didn't bother me at all.

There's no relationship like the one you can have with a sibling. No matter what the issue, I have always been, and will always be the first one to jump to his defense, even if he's in the wrong. I know without a doubt I can be exactly who I am with him and he'll never love me any less, even with all my flaws. So many times he has been the one to comfort me during some crisis, he always knows exactly how I'm feeling.

Recently he's been through some very difficult challenges. Knowing he is hurting is like constantly having a vice grip clenching down on my heart. The worst part is not being able to do anything to help, and being separated by the Atlantic. The only consolation I have is knowing that God loves him infinitely more than I do and has the power to take care of him.

I love you and miss you Kyle and can't wait to see you!