Happy Birthday to my Brother Bear!
Today we celebrate the birthday of my one and only brother bear, Blake. Twenty-six years young today!
Of course, Brother-Blake has always been the young (and impressionable) one. I have obviously always been the much older and wiser one.
Growing up together was epic. Even when we had the odd moments when we were ready to kill each other. (Like that time I was so mad at you I threw a basketball at your head and then you ducked and it went straight through a HUGE glass window). #RAGINGMOTHER (I do believe, due to my highly effective comunication skills, I still managed to blame it on you. Soz about that.)
Growing up, we were rather an "inventive duo". For one of my birthday's my dad had made us a ping pong table - and when Blake and I had gotten bored of playing ping pong (which we played every single day), we carried it outside, leant it against a wall and invented our OWN NEW GAME -
We played this game for HOURS. Marvelling at how it is not yet an Olympic sport.
But don't worry- we invented our own Olympics to go with it. Including regular Ping-Pong, Rollerpongsquash, roller hockey and several other games of our own invention. These tournaments literally lasted for dayz. They lasted so long, that we actually had to pack light refreshments and sweat bands into our "game bags" so that we would not perish during the tournament. We of course, had a grand ceremony where we revealed the elaborate contents of our "game bags" to each other. Contents including (but not limited to) sweat bands, water mist sprays, sweat towels, energy bars, spare rackets, spare socks, spare "game bags" spare everything. The object being to "out-spare" your opponent.
It was grand indeed.
Being of the imaginative nature - it was mighty wonderful when this young, easily beguiled infant came into my life. I would make up amazing stories all the time and have very receptive ears at the ready. An example of which being, Blake and I sitting in my cupboard, in the dark, on a pile of shoes. (I wish I was joking).
Then we used to get into the cupbaord, shut the door from the inside and sit inside on the shoes in the pitch dark. I would then tell the amazing stories of traveling in the cupboard to the MOST MAGICAL places. We often visited Candyland - where there were rivers of chocolate and pink candy-floss trees with big bright lollipop bushes and where you could eat EVERYTHING! Sometimes we went to Fairyland where there were fairies playing about and leaving trails of glittering fairy dust, where we could fly and go into the enchanted forest for tea and ice cream. Sometimes, when my imagination was running low, we ended up in Shoeland - where there were lots of shoes.
#notevenjoking
One of my favourite things that I used to encourage force, brother Blake to do, was participate in "shows" that I used to stage for our parents. I would spend the entire afternoon "rehearsing" Blake and I, telling him where to stand, and what to do and where to sit (general older sister stuff) and then finally, I would make a concert program and a few (limited) paper tickets we would tell our tickets to our parents to watch the show (for a small fee of course). We usually charged about R2 per ticket to the show, which was a rather large sum of money back in the day. Begrudingly willingly, our parents paid. And it was ALWAYS the best time talllying the earnings -
(Also cheated at Monopoly)
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Anywhoo, I just wanted to wish you a very happy birthday my big little bro. You are such a fun person and your ability to make friends with just about absolutely anyone (see below), is one of your finest qualities.
It was so amazing getting to travel with you for so long - not many siblings can say they have had that opportunity and I'm really grateful for that time we shared together.
(even though you got us lost several times and we were asked about 5 hundred times if we were on honeymoon.)
Thank you for being the brother that you are, thank you for your happy upbeat spirit and for being the most genuinely selfless person I know.
Sending you so much love and birthday wishes for your 26th year! May it be filled with love, happiness and all kinds of awesomeness!
I hope your birthday is as cool as you are.
xo
