A Daily Dose of Gratitude

Be prepared for a soppy entry all about how much I love my brothers.

My brothers are the two greatest people alive. I know it’s unusual for an older sister to be obsessed with her two little brothers, I know little brothers should be the bane of my existence, and I realize that by normal people’s standards I should think of them as the most annoying people ever. However, I choose to defy social expectations and show unending love for David and Danny. Oddly enough, they love me, too. I understand Danny’s love, he’s 8 and I haven’t stopped kissing him since the second my mom brought him home from the hospital. But David, I used to torture that kid and I still treat him like my slave sometimes, in fact I call him Slavid! I was 3 when my mom brought him home, I wasn’t mature enough to love him at that age and so I was mean to him forevvverrr. Until a few years ago, David was my mortal enemy and Danny was like my adopted son. Then something clicked and I became best friends with David. It sounds hokey to say this, but David is me in boy form. They are both my little buddies and love me just as much as I love them, if that’s even possible.

I had an experience with them that actually made me cry a little last week. I went home for the weekend for my sister’s bridal shower and my mom and I wanted to keep it a secret so that I could surprise the boys. I thought we were being so sneaky until last Sunday when I was texting David and he told me that he was excited for me to come in a few days... WHAT! Apparently my sister hadn’t gotten the memo and told David I was coming as well, and he told Danny. In an effort to cover my tracks, I told David that yes, I had been planning to come but I had to cancel my flight because I had too much going on with school, so I actually wouldn’t be there. David sent me the following text: “WHAT?!?! Cancel. Seriously. Cancel your plans. Get your work done. Do whatever. Just please come home!!!!” Now if that doesn’t melt your heart then you don’t have one. I told him I was sorry but never got a reply. Ten minutes later my mom called me to tell me that I had one 14-year old brother that wouldn’t talk to anyone and was on the verge of tears and an 8-year old brother that was crying his eyes out in his room and refused to come downstairs for lunch because he “wasn’t hungry.” I was told to “change my plans” and tell my brothers that I was indeed coming, just for them! When I called and heard Danny answer with a sniveling and sad voice, I almost cried myself, but I told him how excited I was to see him, and David, too, and they were both instantly happy. Overjoyed even! Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum.

I just really love them and can’t wait for Christmas break, when I’ll be babysitting them for a week while my parents are out of town.

Oh! I love my dad, too... He is just a big fluffy teddy bear! He had a business trip in Salt Lake City last weekend and visited my sister and I in Provo to take us to dinner. When I hugged him I almost got emotional because it wasn't until right then that I realized how much I missed him.

I'm almost embarrassed at how often I almost cry or did cry in this blog post