No, not the comic characters (although they have their own special charm); I’m talking about myself and my twin brother, Nathan – today is our 23rd birthday! Normally I don’t like to announce my birthday, since it can seem like I’m looking for attention, but today I shall make an exception. The day started out with me sleeping in (I’d just worked several days in a row), and then bouncing out of bed to whistle “Happy Birthday” at Nathan’s door, since he was awake long before I was. Since we were born two minutes apart we waited until our respective birth times and then sang “Happy Birthday” to each other – sarcastically, I might add, since we were more interested in being weird than sharing an intimate moment full of sibling love.
The middle part of the day was crammed full of… not much, which suited me just fine. Every once in a while it’s nice to just sit and do nothing. There was a small part of my brain which kept saying “You really should use your time well, and catch up on cleaning or homework.” But that little voice was drowned out by another voice which said, “Ehh, you’ll have plenty of time to do it tomorrow.”
One thing that our family has done for years is to go out for dinner on each of our birthdays. These outings are the few times in the year that I go to “fancy” restaurants (Olive Garden being our go-to eatery). Birthday candles are usually involved in some way, and once in a blue moon there will be the singing of “Happy Birthday” – not usually my favorite part, since it’s just a little embarrassing.
Over the years I have become more and more grateful for my brother, Nathan. Sure, we squabble sometimes, but I think that just goes with the territory. After 23 years together, I can honestly say that Nathan is my best friend. And if he finds out that I said that about him on the internet, he’ll probably get embarrassed, but I don’t really care. Having Nathan as my brother… I am the luckiest sister in the world 🙂
A Special Strength 