Oh, Brother

This weekend is going to be a very busy weekend. We're visiting Aaron's parents on Saturday and then Saturday night we're headed to my parents' place. The main reason we're heading north for the weekend is a wedding shower, which is happening Sunday afternoon. This is not just any wedding shower - it's a shower for my brother and his fiance.

That's right. My baby brother is getting married! I can't believe he's old enough for this. I also can't believe I really haven't talked about this on here before, because the wedding is less than two months away.

I don't see or talk to my brother very often. He lives way up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, about 8 hours away from here. I usually only get to see him around the holidays or when I head up that way. We don't have a lot in common (besides our great love for our favorite game), but we do generally get along. When we were teenagers we so did not get along. But as kids we were partners in crime.

I was an only child for four years, and was hesitant to give that up, but when he came along I was thrilled to have a new playmate. In fact, when he was an infant I often got in trouble for waking him up from his nap because I desperately wanted to play with him. It was great!

When he was a little older he got to be a little more fun, and I didn't get in trouble for playing with him any more. When he was about two my friends and I would play a fun game with him. We'd put on our favorite "Cabbage Patch" album, turn up the volume, yell bite, and run. You see, whenever he heard the word bite, he'd come after whoever yelled it. It was kind of a painful version of tag, and he was always it.

My mom often tells the story about how we used to get up really early in the morning and she'd hear us whispering in the kitchen as I prepared us breakfast and then we'd turn on the cartoons. She'd come out to see what we were up to, and we'd be laying in front of the television, feasting on Coke and cookies - my favorite thing to fix us.

For most of our childhood, one of our favorite things to do was turn music on really loud, jump around (especially on beds) and sing. Last night as I was falling asleep I got one of our all-time favorite songs stuck in my head: "I'm My Own Grandpa". We didn't have the Jerry Garcia version, ours was the Muppets. But it was a great song nonetheless and we thought it was hilarious. (It kind of is)

My brother won't be down for the shower this weekend (he has finals to study for) and I'll miss him. I can't wait to head up north for the wedding, and I know I'll be a wreck when he's up there saying his vows. Good thing they didn't ask me or my sister to stand up for them because I know she'll be a crying mess too. I just can't believe he's old enough to get married, but I'm so completely excited and happy for him.

I've been thinking long and hard about what to get he and his fiance as a shower gift, but now I think I've figured it out. I'll get them something small off their registry, and then I'm going to make him a cd of our favorite songs from when they were kids. I hope (and I'm fairly sure that) his memories of them are as fond as mine.