Happy Birthday Nicholas!

Nicholas Mark, 1985

I have known Nick for as long as I can remember. No, really. I don't have a childhood memory that doesn't also include Nick's existence. An existence which started a handful and half years ago on this very day. 

Happy Birthday Little Brother 

(who has always been like an Older, Wiser and Better Looking Brother  ;)

When I think of our sibling-hood, several key memories always come to mind first...

Climbing over The Ugly Sofas & Red Eyeball Chair (*see picture below) in games of " I Can Do Something More Dangerous Than You Can" A game in which one of us would do something 'dangerous' like leap from the ottoman to the sofa and the other one had to take that dare then up the ante by jumping from the sofa back to the ottoman with our eyes closed!

I think of hours and hours riding around in the backseat of our various family cars -usually in the  hot, sweaty, summertime- making up games to keep ourselves entertained en route to small country churches in need of a pastor, or with our Granny squished between us en route to the beach. 

(Why yes children, we DID have television way back then... and yes, it was even in color... we just didn't have them in our cars yet.)

I think of countless backyard games & play time with cousins. Of Super Man. The 80's. Knight Rider. St. Nicholas. Sky City. Lucky Touches (Nick had the 'Lucky Touch' with coin op machines... like The Fonz to a Jukebox, a free soda was Nick's for the knocking. Change return slots held other customers' change hostage in wait for Nick's arrival- always paying his searching pinchers with a little jingly change.

I think of games of Alligator on the First Church of the Nazarene front stoop; throwing rocks in the grate behind the church in Wrens. We played games of "Get A Long Gang" that lasted entire minutes before one of us 'messed it up' with a squabble; net-less badminton on Rosemary Drive.

Together, we became expert U-Haul loaders and even shared "Grandma's Attic" seats to get to where we were going.

We were always new in school together- Nick much quicker to make friends than me. Because of Merriweather's combined elementary and middle grades, we never even knew a time where the other wasn't in a classroom nearby on the same premises.

I could spend a lot of time drumming up warm memories of Nick, for as I said, most of my childhood memories feature him too... but he is older now 

(much, much older ;)

And now? Well, now, when I think of Nick-- I think of a fellow follower of Jesus. A man who loves his family, church and serving others.

 I am proud to call you brother Nick, and proud of who you are allowing the Lord to call you to be.

Happy Birthday, Little Brother. 

Keep Obeying Jesus. 

 He has made you an even more awesome person than back when you could fly from the top bunk.
(not that you still can't... just don't try it without some aspirin handy ;)

I love you. 

*sofa & chair in question