Brother Bears

The above photo is a perfect representation of my two brothers and myself, followed by a wonderful photo from my mom's wedding.  I figured in the last blog, I wrote about my best friend's new baby girl and being a godmother, now I really want to indulge in the riches of being a sister.

I have two younger brothers.  Greg, about-to-be 16, and Brad, 21.  Greg lives back home with my father and Brad lives here in Southern California near me (which I love!).  My parents split up about 2 years ago and it was pretty rough on all of us.  Everyone began to dissipate and lose sight of the rewards of having a family; however, something still keeps my brothers and I connected.  Love, hope, humor... whatever it is, it's unknown, but it's definitely there.

Growing up, Brad and I (and most of our friends) used to pick on Greg like there was no tomorrow.  He was the bud of all practical jokes, the cherry on top of a perfect prank.  He hated it; in fact, he would scream and run at the sound of us coming remotely close to the room.  Looking back, we were pretty cruel towards him, but man, was it funny!  Of course today, he has gotten a lot better at defending himself and can chew us up with his drumsticks or his words  =)

Maybe that's the basis of any whole, rich relationship, making them the laughing stock of the room.  I love my brother Greg for all that he is... a trooper.  He can withstand any nonsense Brad or I conjure up and he has never once used it against us.  Perhaps as he is growing up, he is learning that it's all in good fun, and that we will NEVER be boring siblings.

Greg is an extremely gifted drum player.  He spends hours upon hours in my father's garage with his friends jammin' out.  For Christmas, I got him a new set of drumsticks in which he completely wore out within a week.  I should have been upset that he ruined the present I gave him, but instead I was glowing because it showed his devotion to his drum-playing continuously playing and playing and playing until the sticks were practically toothpicks. 

- He also has a sense of humor like you wouldn't believe (most likely deriving from my other brother, Brad).  A few weeks ago, he and his friends made a video and uploaded it to YouTube.  He sent us links via Facebook and within 20 minutes, I was receiving text messages from all members of my family saying, "Holy crap, did you see what Greg made???  HYSTERiCAL!!"  It's basically a collaboration of mindless after-school activities that he and his friends enjoy doing, including spitting out racist jokes towards Mexicans, destroying things around the house and my personal favorite, torturing the dog that has withstood more pranks than Johnny Knoxville from Jackass.  Clever.

Brad has a talent that most people would kill for… humor.  He can put on a smile on even the most cynical, loathsome person you’ve ever met.  (I bought him a Shake Weight for his 21^st birthday and let’s just say that was the hit of the party even AFTER the party ended).  He is an aspiring actor and recently landed himself a crucial role in an upcoming Independent Film set to debut sometime in Spring 2012.  He has a natural talent for doing celebrity impersonations, and even impersonations of his friends that we grew up with!  Brad also has taken an interest in film editing and development.  Like Greg did with his YouTube stunt, Brad continues to create movies, videos, short clips and even music videos of his everyday life.  *If you would like to see any of his work, subscribe to my blog and we’ll go from there!!  ;)

Both of my brothers have been blessed tremendously and I am proud to be called their sister.  Trust me, they have done and said some things in the past that made me want to set their hair on fire, but in the end, they have been there through my darkest hour. 

-          When I was 20, I had all of my wisdom teeth removed at Thanksgiving time…. WORST time ever!!  Nonetheless, I was entirely doped up upon arriving at home after the procedure.  Because of the effects of the drugs, I briefly remember anything before or after that; however, the only thing that is pristine in my mind is that both of my brothers helped carry me up the stairs and put me into bed that day.  I remember them coming into the room every couple of hours to check on me, bring me water, etc.  When I was finally strong enough to get out of bed, I went downstairs and gave them both a hug and a kiss.  Greg smiled and blew it off as if it was nothing, and Brad kissed me back, then smacked my swollen cheeks and started making fun of me.  All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better sibling situation.

Brothers and sisters are the greatest gift any parent can supply.  Solo or “Only children” are wonderful too, but they miss out on the joy of borrowing each other’s clothes, playing at the beach together, having each other’s back when times get tough, celebrating birthdays together, becoming an aunt/uncle when the other sibling decides to have a baby of their own… the list goes on and on!  If you have a brother or sister in your life, make sure you let them know how important they are to you.  Even if you haven’t spoken in years, or are mad at them for something…in the end, it’s all just rubbish.  They will ALWAYS be your brother/sister, no matter what.

Having said that:

>>> I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BRAD AND GREG!!!  Thank you for being the greatest faggle brothers a sister could ever ask for!!  We are the Trifflin’ Trio until the end!!  Marriage, children, jobs, houses, cars, schools, locations, whatever happens… I’m there!!  =D

" Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet. " 

- Vietnemese Proverb