Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming, no matter how much I try to deny it. Honestly, I just want to skip it this year. Why? One reason and one reason only...it won't look like this picture. Granted, the picture is blurry and Tyler has some serious red-eye going on, but it captures the feeling of that night. It was the Friday before Christmas, 2007. We were decorating the tree, drinking wine, joking with each other and just being together. Notice the LARGE stocking on the right; hard to miss, I know. Our mom helped Tyler make that stocking as payback to a joke we played on him. For Christmas 2006, we had hung the stockings with care, but the one we put up for Tyler was tiny. So, this HUGE stocking was his way of saying 'I'm not tiny and therefore, I will not have a tiny stocking!' We all got a big laugh out of it. Tyler always had a knack for making us laugh and forget our troubles.

I was looking at Christmas cards a few days ago, just like every year around this time, and I had another moment of realization. I wouldn't be buying a card for Tyler this year. Every year we would buy each other the sappiest brother/sister card we could find, but the great thing about it is, we always meant every word. I know I've said this before, but I'm going to miss getting that sappy card from him this year...every year. Mostly I'm going to miss having him standing next to me in front of the fire, laughing at unspoken jokes between us and toasting the great things to come.

To my brother, my friend...

Thank you for the laughter and the tears...
For the talks and the silence.
Thank you for being you and for loving me, unconditionally.
Though I miss you with every passing moment, you will always be with me...
For that, I am eternally grateful.
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year, little bro.

With every bit of a big sister's BIG love,
D