Improbable as it may seem, I was not always happy to have a little brother. As the story goes, a week or so after Nick was born, my three year old self approached my mother and asked with complete sincerity whether or not we could “put him back” from wherever it was he came from.
Eventually, of course, I came to terms with the fact that that was not in the cards, and while the harassing text messages we send each other these days might indicate otherwise, my brother and I are quite close.
Anyone who knows us both could tell you that we’re as different as brothers can get and still be related to one another, but there’s no one I care for more in this world. It is with great pleasure, then, that I’m to see him married to a brilliant, beautiful girl tomorrow here in Iowa.
I’m immensely proud of him and the man he’s become, and I can honestly say that while he’s asked me to be his best man he is my better in nearly every respect (I have the edge in baseball knowledge).
The world has changed a great deal since this picture was taken, and his life will be very different after tomorrow, but some things are constant: he will always be my little brother.
