Well, We Didn't Care If I Ever Got Tall, and We Didn't Care If She Got Pretty At All. We Liked What We Looked Like

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 
     Lil' Sis! Sending My Love To 
     You From Connecticut

There is something about October 24th that gets me every year. I think it is because it's my little brother's birthday...I mean sister's (I only shaved her hair once) and I know she's another year older. For some reason it makes me highly reflective of my own life. I don't usually get nostalgic or weirded out when I age another year, nor does it hit me when Cynde ages (she's the oldest...she's supposed to age), but when CASEY has another birthday,   it frightens me. She's supposed to always be my "little" sister. But now she's old like me.

Well, relatively speaking. I mean, even Rachel from Friends has aged, no?

And the older I get, the more I can state that nothing means more to me than her and my family. I love Cynde and her world (the Isgars). I love mom and dad, and their world (the Crandalls). I love Casey, and her world (the Barnwells). But I love all of our worlds together (the Douchebags).

Somewhere in Casey's basement are those birthday posters I used to make for her to hang in her Herkimer and Oswego bedrooms. On Facebook, there are probably videos showcasing the joy of her world that I've made (actually, she has VHS tapes of my videos, too). And now, I stop my universe and reflect on her birthday. God only knows what I'd be without her.

So, when I was running last night I began thinking about this one time when I leaped off the diving board at camp and, not knowing where Casey was in the lake, landed directly on her head. We were both startled, but I was afraid I knocked her out completely. I just remember feeling the impact of landing on her and thinking, "Oh, my God. I just killed my sister." A chunky, pre-adolescent blobster landing on anyone's head would be traumatic. But she lived and I'm glad for it. Truth is, I have many more great memories and the ugly ones are few. I remember:

1. Competing with her and Cynde to be the first to run to the kitchen in Clark's Mills to smell Dusty's puppy breath when we got our first dog,
2. Playing Devils and Angels with her and Cynde as we drove home from visits to our grandparents (Okay, so Cynde and I played and Casey got smacked around),
3. Driving with mom in her Renault Alliance all over New York State when Casey made district All-Stars and her softball team went on a winning streak,
4. Having 24-hour Mario Brothers marathons with Casey while eating Oreos and sipping juice boxes,
5. Visiting Casey in Myrtle Beach and running up to her with a giant stuffed animal Salmon I bought,
6. Exploding a giant, pregnant spider with Casey's wheelchair in Dad's garage (heck, leaving Casey stranded in her wheelchair at the bottom of strangers' driveways),
7. Invading the home Casey now lives in during her wedding day when the limo dumped us off in front of the house in our tuxedos, gowns, and with a nice buzz,
8. Both days Casey brought beautiful sons into the world (including the night I was watching Sean and Dave came home and said, "Your sister birthed a boxer or a pug dog. We're not sure which one yet."
9. The 2015 pinky-incident in which Casey was my hero, and finally
10. The night Chitunga said to me, "I really love Casey's hugs. She makes me feel a part of your world."

And then there are so many car-talks, Amalfi Drive shenanigans, and pool conversations (shoot - our greatest memories have been in water, whether at Loch Lebanon or in the back of mom and dad's yard). 

Yes, Casey. You are another year beautiful and I'm wishing you the best. I love you with all my might (funny, I don't think I've ever seen this video...I always thought the song was about us. I guess it was about Michael Jackson and Roberta Flack).