The Bro

Home has been a hot topic for me lately, but it's because I am THAT excited about it.

Despite the fact I only got 2 hours of sleep and I am a zombie at work, today is a really great day so far! I get to leave work early, fly home, eat one of my favorite meals ever, and see my family. My brother is picking me up from the airport and he said he will bring me a number one meal from Chick-fil-A. With sweet tea, of course. He knows me too well. Before Boston got Chipotle, he would always get me burritos - first thing. Without our shared love for food, I don't know if we'd have the same sibling relationship as we do.

Well... now that I am on the topic of my brother I want to mention a few things about him. I don't verbally express this enough, but I am truly glad he is my brother. We have had our share of fights, arguments, and drama in the past, but when I look at us today, I see that both of us have moved past all of that. I remember talking to my roommate about siblings and she told me her mom always tells her that your sibling will probably be the longest relationship you have in your life. It's SO true. I am grateful to have him so close in age (a year older) because I feel like he can be a friend when I need him to be, but also someone I can turn to for advice or an outlet to vent to. Granted, most often times I feel like the older one because he comes to me more in times of need, but either way I think the fact that we are sharing and helping each other is a really great and important thing. It makes me look at all the past rough times as a blessing in disguise - sort of as hurdles and leaps to challenge and strengthen the relationship that is still growing to this day.

So a little bit about him.

He is a foodie. Straight up. He has been in the restaurant business for more than 5 years, starting off as a busser at Chili's to working at some of the highest dining options in Atlanta. He is acquiring a high sense of appreciation for fine dining (and picking up yummy recipes along the way) and developing an acute taste for wine (wine-o!). But before he got into that, he was always the athlete of the family. I like to say he stole away all those athletic genes because I am honestly only left with running. Sigh. But he is seriously gifted! His room is a literal trophy room. From his black belt (with extra stripes) in TaeKwonDo, to all his little league trophies, to tennis, and to golf. (Oh, and of course his piano medals too) It boggles my mind. His plan during middle and high school was to become a professional golfer. I think he could've made it - he always placed in state wide tournaments and he even went up to national tournaments while he was in high school. But like with everyone, life threw some pretty mean curve balls at him and he just didn't follow his original path. Unfortunate, but I think he's still got a whole lot left in him - I'm secretly plotting to get him to start up again by forcing him to teach me. One swing at a time. :)

But apart from his athletic talent and his love for food, he has a charismatic personality. He always jokes around and laughs with random people, and his fearlessness always catches me off guard - in a good way. He is hard on the outside, but soft on the inside - his "hardcore" attitude carried him through life, but he always kept the child within him. His playful nature always brings one out of me too, especially after being brainwashed of trying to be an adult too fast and too soon. He is someone who truly tests me in many aspects and someone who I appreciate having around to keep me grounded.

All in all, he is a great brother and he is one of the reasons why I am looking forward to my trip home this weekend. He always accomodates his schedule to match mine and always takes me out for new eating adventures. No matter what happens and despite all the rough patches in the past, I will constantly hold this idiom to heart: "Blood runs thicker than water."