Some of my favorite memories are of my brother. When I was little I wanted to be him. I would dress like him and I remember when a friend of his called to me from across the street because he thought I was my brother. It made me so happy. I looked up to him. My mom said that when they brought me home from the adoption agency they told him that I was his. From that moment he protected and looked out after me.
When we lived in our fifth house we had the best relationship. He was a freshman in high school and I was in sixth grade. We both had chores that had to get done and we found a way to help each other out. Two memories stand out.
The first was that he would bring his football buddies over after practice and before the game on Fridays. They would play ping pong in the garage and hang out. I played hostess to this group and made homemade cookies and milk and lemonade for them. Mark was always thankful that I treated his friends so nicely and didn't bug them like most little sisters would have.
The other memory I have is my 13th birthday party. Having a birthday on New Years is difficult for a kid because most parties are not about them. My 13th party was different. I had a slumber party with a bunch of friends from church. My brother and his friends were a couple years older and they put on a concert for us. Back in the day of 8 track tapes and air guitars these two boys practiced their electric guitars to some fun rock music. They set up their amps in the living room and turned off the lights. Us girls got our flashlights and waved them around as the played and sang. My friends were amazed an swooned over the two "rock-stars"! It was amazing!! It didn't hurt that my brother and his friend were considered hot in the eyes of every female in the room. It was so much fun and memory that is etched in my heart.
He also always looked out for me. One day I was walking my dog at the high school and a bully came and took my dog. I came home crying and my brother pushed me aside and went after the bully. A few minutes later my dog came home an awhile after that.so did my brother. I wanted to know what happened, but all he said was "I took care of it.". I found out later that he held the kid against the wall and told him that nobody messes with his little sister. Everyone in our time knew not to mess with me, my brother was always on the lookout and took care of me.
My brother and I have been through many things over the years and we have made choices that drove us apart. But I will always love my big brother. He was always good to me growing up no matter how many arguments we have had or may have in the future. He is a great guy!
