It's June 16th in Spain.

And my brother, Jessie, was born on June 16th, 1990. So it's his 21st birthday!!! :)

So let me tell you some things about my brother.

First off, he looks nothing like me. He's tall and lanky with strawberry blond hair, blue eyes, and freckles. Tons and tons of freckles. We have the same nose and that's about it.

But he's the most amazing big brother I could have ever wanted. I got lucky when I was born into the same family as him. Even though we were like typical brother and sister when we were little, fighting all the time, pulling each other's hair, wrestling, and fighting over who got what, we grew up to be the best of friends. He's always been there for me, and I know he always will. After all, he kind of has to, I'm his baby sister.
I know he'll never scorn me for anything I've done, and I know he'll never turn his back on me. We're family, and that's what family is supposed to do.

I just got a great idea. I'm going to write a list of 21 memories I have with my brother over the years. (I pretty much just wrote them down as they came to mind.)

1. The time when our driveway was still gravel, and I fell on my bike and gashed my knee open and you came and helped me into the house and cleaned me up.
2. When we first dropped you off at Iowa State your freshman year, and I waved to you from the back window of the truck as long as I could until I couldn't see you anymore.
3. Sitting downstairs watching you play video games.
4. When you came home from school, always ready to drop everything and let me jump into your arms.
5. The time I wanted to read "The Golden Compass" and opened the book to find a handwritten notecard in your chicken scratch. (this was after you'd left for school.... it's not really a memory of YOU, but it reminded me of you and how much I missed you.)
6. Playing on the gigantic mound of top soil in our backyard.
7. When it rained so hard that there were rivers of water flowing in our driveway and in the gutters, and we got a little toy boat out and played in the runoff water.
8. The last time you came to my dance recital my sophomore year, when I had my very first solo.
9. When you would push me on that HUGE rope and wood swing in the top part of that old barn down on the farm.
10. When we devoured PaPa's "Famous" cheese sandwiches (that were really only just bread and cheese put in the microwave until they were melty)
11. The night you came home tipsy after being out with Pradi, and you put your shoes on the wrong feet and looked completely bewildered by it.
12. The day you picked me up from work at Sears, and that guy yelled at me and told me to "make my boyfriend move his car."
13. When I came home from work that night in December and we got so drunk that I got sick and you kept trying to shove pizza in my face.
14. When you came and stayed the night in Whitewater and helped me move out the next day.
15. The day you graduated high school. :)
16. The night when I came home with a broken heart and you sat there and let me cry on your shoulder.
17. The countless nights we spent up playing guitar in your room together.
18. The time in that TINY hotel room in Oban, Ireland, when we were watching music videos on the UK equivalent of MTV.
19. The walk we took in Arles, France, and just talked about life in general and everything that lay ahead for us.
20. When we argued over who got to sleep on the bed and who got the pull out couch every night when we stayed in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic.
21. That day we spent in the Guitar Center, looking at electric guitars.
(22.) (Yes I know I'm cheating but this one's too good to not include) Watching the stars on the roof almost every night of summer.

A lot of these memories are from more recent years, just simply because my memories of my childhood are few and far between because of my ADD. One thing I know for sure though is that you, Jessie, have ALWAYS been there for me. You've always protected me and made sure I was safe. I never could have asked for a better big brother, or a better best friend, than you, Jess. I've missed you ever since you moved on out and started college. You've always been better at adjusting to new environments than me. But honestly, I just want you and me back together, living under the same roof again, so we can always talk, no matter the hour of the night, and so that we can always be right by each other's fingertips. But yes, I know you want your independence and trust me, I want mine. I just don't want us to drift.

There will always be that super tight, unbreakable, indestructible bond that a brother and sister share between us, and I know I can always call on you, no matter what. And I'm so incredibly lucky to have a brother who loves me the way I love you, Jess.

So Happy 21st Anniversary of the day you came into the world. Don't get too belligerent, and remember to skype me more. :) I love you Jessie.