Caleb.

He’s my brother.  I used to hate him.  Some people would say I have reason and some don’t know how I love him now.  But I do.  I love him so much.  And I hate that he lives so far away.  He lives in Lawton, Oklahoma which is some part of the country that I assume may as well be the asscrack of America.  Based partially on it being in OK and partially based on it being so small, you basically have nowhere to shop but WalMart.  All good reasons not to live there (I hope he reads this and immediately moves).

Anyhow, he’s really the best big brother a girl could ask for… as long as you’re old enough to be past sibling rivalry.  However, our disdain of each other was often a little bit too deep and hate-filled to really only be called sibling rivalry.  We pulled knives on each other.  I used to tell him all the time that when he died, I’d be more than willing to make a cake for the “after party” that was round, iced in yellow and decorated with a chocolate frosting smiley face.  If I tried, I couldn’t tell you how many times we told each other we hated each other.  And by told each other, I mean screamed violently.  He was a fat kid, so I would grab his fat rolls and twist so that he would be in so much pain he’d fall to the floor and writhe in pain while I laughed.  He was an amazing archer and when I started to participate in the sport with him, I got good enough that he got “jealous.”  My parents made me quit, which really bothered me (since we spent a good 20 hours with him watching his shoot and we all had to be there).  As soon as my quitting was complete, he told me (when my parents weren’t around) that he only said it bothered him so much because he didn’t want me to have fun while he was shooting.

Point is, we did not get along.  Not even slightly.  We grew older and matured (a little) and are now really close.  We talk almost daily and vent to each other all the time.  We can’t stand living so far apart from each other and wish we could see each other more often.  It’s so annoying that the distance is part of what brought us together.  Maybe one day we’ll live near each other.  I can’t wait until I can see him all the time and love on him in person and not have to rely on telecommunications.