What a Baby Brother Does at His Older Brother's Graduation

It's funny how you can look through photos and realize how people can experience the same event in totally different ways. Take, for example, Nicholas' graduation as seen through the eyes of Timothy.


Allow me to introduce Exhibits 1-4.


1- Plays his Nintendo DS while waiting for commencement ceremonies to begin.

2- Tries to pronounce the foreign names in the program.

3- Takes ONE photo with his shirt tucked in, untucks it for every photo thereafter.

4- Follows everyone blindly. Doesn't have a say-so in anything. He's basically ignored all day long.

Boys' Night Out

This past Wednesday was my Bunco Night, and because Joe was out of town Jonathan was in charge of feeding/entertaining/watching his baby brother.


So, they went to McDonald's for dinner (Big Mac meals for both), came home and played Farkle (Timothy won), and sprawled out on the couch to watch a Hawks game on television.


Inspired by the game, they took my antique basket (which, by the way, is 30 years old and made with plantain leaves and grape vines), a wad of balled up socks (thus adhering to the "no ball in the house rule"), and while they were sitting way over here ... they practiced their shots with the basket placed way over there.


I'm thinking they had fun.

big brother still looking out for baby brother ...

Big Brother, Little Brother

When Nicholas was home for Christmas he had a little shadow, for wherever he went and whatever he did Timothy was glued to his side. Timothy sat next to his older brother on the couch, during dinner, in church. If Nicholas was working on the computer, Timothy would play with his Legos nearby. When Nicholas came home from work, Timothy would be waiting for him at the back door.

It was so sweet to see -- older brother mentoring, humoring, teasing, playing, and talking with his little shadow. Needless to say, baby brother blossomed with all that attention and felt a little lost when school resumed after the holidays.

But then came yesterday's letter from Nicholas, addressed to Timothy. A letter ... just for him.

And not just any letter.

It was three typed pages in which Nicholas, who knows how much his little brother loves Britain's Top Gear, described how he used the Forza video game to create his own Top Gear challenge. He sent a photo of the three cars he selected (a Ferrari California, a Lotus Evora, a Mercedes SLS AMG), a map of the virtual racetrack, and the rules for the challenge:

1- Two laps around a German racetrack, fastest time wins.

2- No using the rewind button.

And just like the show, Nicholas then went over the results: the Ferrari California had the best handling, but was the slowest; the Lotus Evora was faster, but harder to control; the Mercedes SLS AMG, despite a 360 degree spin, managed to come in with the fastest time.

It was the perfect letter from a big brother to his little brother, who couldn't stop smiling the rest of the afternoon. Of course, after dinner Timothy set up his own Top Gear challenge, and his results (in a three page typed letter) are already in today's mail heading to Clemson.

The smile was there for the rest of the day.

A letter ... all for Timothy.

Nicholas' shadow.

Brotherly Love

So, because he is leaving this Saturday for Clemson University, this afternoon Big Brother took Baby Brother to see a movie (Planes) and out to eat (McDonald's). Smiles all around.