My Brother

My brother gets married this weekend. It's kind of crazy to think about. Needless to say, I am so happy for him and Cindy. Eight years ago, Ben was my best-man for our wedding. (Wow, he was 17 then!), and I was proud to have him as my best man. I am honored that he has asked me to be his, (although really, I don't think he had a lot of choice in the matter.) Ben is six years younger than me, which is quite a gap for brothers. We have always gotten along just fine, but as he got older, we have been able to be more on a peer level than just an older brother, younger brother thing. But, I guess during these times in our lives, we are supposed to get a little sentimental, so here it goes...


I remember:


...playing countless whiffle ball games in the front yard, each of us mimicking batter stances such as Geno Petralli, Julio Franco, and Mickey Tettleton.

...playing basketball where we "drafted players" and had to play like them during the game. For instance, if you picked Hakeem Olajuwon, you had to take the ball down low to score, but if you picked John Paxson, you could shoot from three-point range (which was behind the hibiscus plant). Also, since I was older and bigger, I wasn't allowed offensive rebounds or blocks. If we played now, the rules would definitely need to be reversed.

...drawing up football plays for the big Thanksgiving cousin football game.


Then Ben grew up. I remember:

...Spring Training in Port Charlotte.

...awesome Maverick play-off games against the Kings.

...the nervous walk to A&M graduation.

...relationship talk.


One of the biggest changes from Ben's youth to adulthood is his feeling toward public displays of affection. Jessica, Ben, and I drove home once from Galveston. We had celebrated Thanksgiving there and for some reason were leaving before everyone else. Ben said he was disgusted by Jessica and I holding hands. Cindy changed that feeling for Ben.


In our wedding program, I put Psalm 1 by Ben's name in the program. He is living up to that Psalm. I am glad Ben is my brother. We wish Cindy and Ben much happiness in marriage, and know that as they remain "trees planted by streams of water" God will strengthen their love for each other for their entire lives.

We are glad to finally be able to call Cindy, Aunt Cindy, for our kids. And we hope that we will be a good aunt and uncle to their children as well one day. Who knows - it could happen in about 9 months now.