Austin is ten years older than me, and one of the most important people in my life. Sometimes, I forget just how lucky I am to have him.
I wasn’t the easiest little sister to have. Especially when you’re in high school,
Little fact: he is technically my half-brother. He is not my dad’s biological son but was his son in every other way. Now, I didn’t know he wasn’t my dad’s kid, until one day my brother’s friend said something. I didn’t understand what ‘half’ meant. Did it mean he wasn’t my brother?! I bawled my eyes out until my mom explained what that meant. Even though he is technically my half brother, I never consider the ‘half’ part. He simply is and always will be my brother.
We had our share of small fights, ya know the normal tormenting siblings share. Like when he would shove his socks into my mouth. Yes, his freaking socks!
But, he was also amazing. We always shared our little secrets from our parents. When he was supposed to be babysitting me, he would take me out instead to go get Domino’s “Dominator.” He included me when most other brothers would push their sibling out. Although yes, I do know some of that was forced on him by mom.
He also made tiny gestures, like if I got sent to bed early because I wouldn’t eat (Let me add, I was the pickiest of eaters), Austin would sneak me up a bowl of cheerios, or whenever I was sick, he would always bring me a 7-11 Slurpee when he came home.
I adored my brother and wanted to be just like him. So much so, I grew up as a major tomboy throughout elementary school and most of middle school. Oh, the horror when I look back at that stage.
As Austin and I got older a lot shifted. He went away to college, got a girlfriend. There was a lot of time he wasn’t home, which is normal since he was in college and enjoying his time as one should. I used to sleep in his bed when he would be gone for long periods of time. Especially after finding out about dad. Still, even though he wasn’t around as much anymore he was terrific.
I’ll never forget him taking me to Dubl Twister when mom and dad would fight. It became “our spot.” We would sit outside on the bench, and just talk. When we went there it was like an oasis of ice cream and time alone with peace and quiet.
I used to talk to him about everything. He was my best friend; he would even cancel plans just to take me to the movies when he knew I needed some brother time.
There are so many things. So many!
-The way he let me pick out his cologne when he had a date.
-When I would be getting off the bus, he would pull up in his Wrangler, and say “hop on.” I’d jump on the back step next to his tire, and he’d drive away, making me feel like I was the coolest kid ever.
-He took care of me when I got sick from drinking, even when he had better things to do.
-The way he sent me a postcard and letter from almost every state him and his girlfriend stopped at on their cross country trip.
-That eventually he moved home for good… for me.
That’s only to name a few.
As we grew older, I got into a lot of trouble. He was the “good” kid, and I turned into the “rebellious” kid. As the youngest, I also got away with more. It’s then that a little divide happened. And it’s weird because we’ve always been so close.
I know I didn’t make things easy. I followed a remarkably self-destructive path, and Austin was on the opposite. There’s more in the middle I’ll touch upon later.
But regardless of all that did happen in the middle, we found each other again.
Austin and I are two very different people. We may bump heads here and there, but what siblings don’t?
Austin recently moved two and a half hours away from me. I had finally moved closer to him darn it! BUT it reminds me even more how lucky I am to have him in my life as the best big brother ever!
I love you Austin… you big poophead 🙂