Bubby

Recently I decided it would be fun to do a series of blog posts about my siblings and what they have meant/still mean to me. I look up to each of them so much, for so many different reasons, and though they are a few years older than me, I still have lots of memories from my childhood that really hold a special place in my heart! (I have to add, so no one is left out, that I also have two awesome sisters-in-law, and a brother-in-law, and I am thankful for them too!) So anyway, I hope this is ok with my siblings...if not, they'll get over it. I'm the baby after all, and that means I get away with everything can do what I want to once in awhile!  ;)

And because he is oldest I mean, ummm...because he is the first-born of my siblings, I'm going to start with my brother Bryan. I have lots of random memories, so they're in no particular order, but I also have so many reasons I still look up to my "Bubby" now to share at the end!

My brother Bryan was (and still is) always full of corny jokes to make people laugh (or maybe groan once in awhile...haha). He played drums like a pro, and it's because of him that I wanted to be a girl percussionist! He graduated high school and moved to college the same year I graduated Kindergarten. I still remember the ways I looked up to him. I remember when he was home from college that I couldn't wait for him to pick me up at the babysitter's house. I remember when he had friends over that I wanted to hang out with them because they were "so cool..." and that once in awhile he actually let me. He drove the coolest (ok, probably ugliest and biggest) gray Cougar in town...lol...I think my parents got smaller and smaller cars as each child learned to drive (thank goodness!)

I don't remember when, but at some point, I had a friend who called her older brother "Bubby." I decided I wanted to call my brother "Bubby" too, and the name stuck! My brother played in a Christian band with some friends in town, and I remember summer evenings sitting in the back (or on top of the hood) of our family station wagon in the parking lot of what was Stanley's Grocery Store then, eating ice cream from Ruby's, and watching his band play. I was a super fan, of course! One of my favorite memories is of the music he loved to listen to. DC Talk, who was pretty hard-core back then was cool to me because they were cool to him. I recently found a cassette tape he made for me of some of their best songs. My Bubby worked at a Christian radio station for awhile too, and even though he couldn't always take requests, he played a song that was one of my favorites, "Drop in the Bucket" by the A Capella Kids. (P.S. I tried SO hard to find a copy of that song or the cassette tape it was on today online, but no luck! Maybe one day I will find it and get to hear it again!) I will always remember that song! He also taught me to play the game "Mastermind," and of course I got even better than him and learned to win a lot! (Or maybe he just let me once in awhile, but I think I was pretty good!)

My brother was a Christian example to me and to others around him. I remember one time when he was helping with either VBS or Sunday School and we were playing a game of "Sink or Float," where you put things in a tub of water to see what happens. One of the items was bar soap, and I decided that I would pretend to wash my hands instead. Somehow I think there was a mess involved, and I remember he was not the happiest with me! haha Oh well!

I remember that he had a girlfriend (now his wonderful wife of almost 19 years) who he spent lots of time with (especially on the phone!), and that, even though I might have been just a tiny bit jealous once in awhile for his attention, he always still made time for me too! After they were married, Bryan and Melissa always made time for me to spend a few days with them in the summers where ever they were living, and it was a lot of fun for me!

So - now I'm here, and it's hard to believe I'm older than the age my brother Bryan was when I made all those memories. But one thing hasn't changed - my brother has an amazing heart for God, and he has gone from making time for one baby sis and a wife to adding five other precious girls in his life! Yes - my brother is dad to five beautiful girls, my nieces! He and Melissa do a wonderful job keeping up with the many different interests, activities, and needs of their children. I admire my brother for the dad he is - pouring time and energy into the role God has called him to fill in his family, and giving individual love and attention to each of his special girls. My "Bubby" still loves playing drums, working with computers (he has a computer programming business), and sharing Christian music with others. In fact, if you like Christian rock, hard rock, hip-hop, or power praise, you should check out the online stations he created here!

I'm sure there are many other memories I will think of as I write about my other siblings, but for now, I just want to tell my Bubby, if you read this - I love you lots! I have looked up to you since I was little, and I still look up to you as an adult. I love this time we have now as siblings when all five of us are adults to share life with each other in different ways. I respect your advice and have learned a lot from watching you and Melissa raise your girls. I am thankful God blessed me with two awesome big brothers, and that you are one of them. As I think about having a family of my own one day, I pray I will find a man who loves the Lord and devotes himself as a dad like you do to your family. Of course no one will ever take your place as the corny pro-joke teller! :)

Love, Your Baby Sis (Who is now pretty much as tall as you and also almost 27 years old!)