Happy Birthday to my Best Friend

~guest post by Patrick

In my life, I have had, and lost, many friends. Friends come and go and that's just life. What does not come and go is family. For better or for worse, you are stuck with your family. I am a firm believer that the people with whom you surround yourself ultimately will shape you as a person. I am certain that in my life my family has shaped me as a person and inside my family no person has been closer to me than my oldest sister, Mary Beth.

{Mom note: Patrick's arm is wrapped in a huge cast. He had surgery two days before. Apparently, this injury-for-birthdays tradition dates way back.}

Now make no mistake, my oldest sister is still my younger sister and no matter how old and mature she gets, she will always be little to me. There is a sort of iconic photo in our house that shows me with Bee and Mom, just hanging out on a hospital bed the day she was born. Now I don't remember that day, but from the look on my face, I don't think I was too fond of the idea of losing the title of "family baby." And while I may not remember that moment, I do remember my relationship with Bee from a very young age pretty vividly.

    I can remember playing with her and I can remember when "playing" turned to "hanging out" that turned to "chillin'.." In the "playing" days, I thought I could turn Bee into a world class soccer player. That was dream was thwarted pretty quickly when she broke a bone at age 5 and decided she would never play a contact sport again. From the "hanging out" days, I can remember sitting on Bee's bed, talking about anything and everything that came to mind-- she is a great listener and I think anyone who knows me knows that I have opinions to be heard. As for the 'chillin' days, well, they've had their ups and downs. Life has happened as we have grown up; there have been challenges that didn't exist as little kids. But even through the ups and downs, Bee is still there, my right-hand-chic and I am positive that the love and friendship is as strong as ever. 

Bee is turning 16 today. Whoa. One thing I know about 16-year-old girls is that boys are attracted to them. Through my own ignorance I guess I overlooked this little fact? Needless to say, when the thought of Bee and boys comes to mind, uh, it kind of freaks me out... Everyone knows that dads and brothers are protective of their ladies-- poor Bee, she is going to have more protection than the pope. We always joke that Bee can't start dating until she is 40. This is clearly just silliness, Bee, if you're reading this, I say you can start at 35.

All jokes aside, I am proud to call Bee my best friend and my sister. I am sure that as we grow, neither of these titles will change. Bee is as loyal as they come. I honestly don't know where I would be without her constant love and support and I am lucky and blessed to have a person as amazing as Bee in my life.

Happy Birthday, Bee!

{We struggled with pictures here. Now the secret is out: Mary Beth is the resident photographer and we can barely blog without her help.}