thinking about family

today is my brother's 28th birthday. it makes feel old because i don't feel a day older than 25 myself and him turning 28 means i am for real not 25. he is also going to be a dad.... that amazes me.
not because i think he won't be a good dad but because it means we really are adults. i realize i am saying this after having given birth to my third child but it seems more real with him having a kid than me having one (or three). i still think of him as the kid i drove around when i was in high school and was still taller than....never mind that he is almost six feet tall.... and his arm muscles are about the size of my head (being a marine makes him buff..... so does training for a triathalon).

i've realized a couple of things about him as an adult:

• he is super funny. his blog makes me laugh out loud (his is called "a real superman"). i realize that it might only be funny to those who know him but i found his experience at the new kids on the block concert absolutely hysterical!
  
• he is not the prettiest sister! (his running joke being the youngest of two sisters who happen to have dressed him up a few times and actually given him a female alias)
  
• he is wise beyond his years (as demonstrated in his choice for a spouse)
• he is a good friend. it is fun to have your siblings become your friends. i am enjoying both my siblings as we grow and become individuals. it get excited about their relationships with my children, especially as i get to explain where they came from (like sweet pea's middle name is my sister's middle name). i get excited about continuing to learn from them, experience life with them, and continue to learn to relate to them apart from our parents.
• he is super brave. he has been deployed for his 4th tour..... this time afghanistan. he arrived there today. that sucks!
  

pray for his safe return. he is scheduled to return on his wife's due date. that sucks too!