Welcome to the Love Letters! Get caught up on the previous letters below!
Love Letter 1 – To the Ones Who Started It All
Love Letter 2 – To the Teenager
You’re graduating today. It’s the end of one journey and the start of another. I can’t believe just four years ago that was me walking across the stage. Now it’s your turn. But when you reach a new milestone, you should always pause a minute and reflect on what brought you to this point. Recognizing the past is part of owning your future. So let’s look into our past. Because we were the first two kids to ever be born to our immediate family. I’m not sure the world was quite ready.
We’ve had so many shenanigans together.
We played dress-up together, we pretended together, we told on each other (of course), we argued. We even made “movies” together. I don’t ever think we’ll forget the time we tried to re-make a Barney episode. Between my pillow-stuffed purple sweat suit and cow mask (don’t ask, it’s all we had that resembled anything close to Barney) and your attempt to dress up as BJ, plus all of our cheesy-ness, we made Mom laugh the hardest we’ve ever heard.
We actually end up reminiscing together quite often. (It’s also kind of funny when the younger siblings start “remembering” the same incident, except for the fact they weren’t born yet/weren’t old enough to remember) At random times we will bring up one of our escapades from the past, and this actually makes me incredibly happy. Why? Because it speaks of our closeness and the fact that we were extremely blessed to have had such fun together as we grew up. We were able to have a wonderful sibling relationship and make memories. Why? Because of our parents and their teaching that our siblings are our first friends and only playmates sometimes. So we had to make it or break it.
There were so many other pictures I could have used of us playing dress up together. But I figured I should be nice. Those will just be kept for posterity.
We pranked each other, scared each other so many times we got banned from it, and surprise, surprise, I bossed you around way too much. Comes with the territory, bro.
The best part of growing up was only having you in my “classroom” for the first couple years. We had a lot of fun with our hands-on part of school. You even let me wrap you up like a mummy. Homeschooling perks.
You know how to make jokes. For real. You are the pun master in the family, and can always be counted on to have some new joke or story to tell. Just the other night you re-told another joke. “I wonder if dermatologist conferences have breakout sessions…” Cue the laughs and eye-rolls.
I feel completely safe when you are around. Thanks for watching out for me and being my protector. I’m not taller than you anymore, and I haven’t been for a while. That’s ok. I actually like that.
I love being able to learn from you, and that happens every time you get up and preach from God’s word. I remember when preparing a “sermon” was part of your school, and you would use an outline from a Christian newsletter. Sometimes you would even dress in your suit. Mom and I would sit on the couch and you would get a bar stool and place your Bible on that as you preached your sermon to us. God has given you a gift for spreading His word. Guard that and cultivate it. Never back down from preaching the truth.
I may have been able to manipulate (read: boss) you into doing what I wanted when I was younger, but now you stand on your own firm ground and you stand for the right things.
You are also an amazing gift giver. I’m sure your future wife will really appreciate that. 😉 You really and honestly surprise me with the thought and effort you put into giving people gifts that are completely “them” and at the same time useful.
Thanks for always being willing to fix my car for me. You’ve saved me lots of cash by being able to fix my mechanical issues. And since you’re going into automotive, I know I can always count on you. 🙂
Thanks for being my brother. Couldn’t imagine life without you. Love ya much.
