He getta married!

In 1991 I got a new brother and sister. A 12 year old girl who throws coke cans at my head and a snotty little turd boy (age 9?).  I spent my high school years in a blended family. It was like an unfunny version of the Brady Bunch*. But in honesty it was like mashing up two previously fully formed families. We had a girl and a boy, they had a girl and a boy. We needed a mom. We gained one of those too. But this is the tale of the turd. 

Every family situation is different and I can't give you a comparison to how ours was either*. There were some rocky moments but also a lot of bonding. Long long typical summer vacations in the van for example. 

I remember going to a psychiatrist after our family merged. Apparently I have an anger problem. I only talked to him once. Supposedly I was beating up on Chris too much. The shrink asked me something like "are you taking out your anger that your mom died on Chris?" I didn't laugh in his face, but it still makes me smile to this day. What was misinterpreted to some misplaced anger was really acceptance. I was beating up on him because he was my little brother. That's what big brothers do (until they get super strong Junior year).

Cut to St. Patty's '08. JC comes to visit me in the big city. He's bringing his new "lady" with him. It's not official but he's definitely excited to have her come along. Of course she's a sassy spitfire who can handle her own against him. I was happy to have met her and hoped he wasn't going to screw it up...

...And he hasn't. This Saturday he's going to be locking her down for good. I am honored to be a part of the wedding in any capacity, let alone getting to stand up in the front. 

We may not look alike, but inside we're very much the same. We may not have the same blood running through our veins, but I gladly call him brother and friend. Plus its awesome to introduce him as my brother and see people's confused faces trying to figure out which one of us is adopted.

Congrats, Chris & Jessica!

*Sentence courtesy of Paul Rudd in Knocked Up.
*Except for the example in the first paragraph about the Brady Bunch.