January 11, 1975

Like most brothers, Kevin and Jason had their fair share of sibling rivalry. Separated in age by only two years, they were as close as brothers could be. A big part of their relationship was goofing on each other. Kevin had a million nicknames for his younger brother. Each one more insulting than the last. haha (Out of respect for Jason, I won't share them with you.)

I will, on the other hand, share with you a poem that, at age 13, Jason wrote about Kevin. A little backstory here... my brother Kevin was quite the stud when he was 15 (well, at least he thought he was).

What really makes me smile, about this poem, is that it takes me back to when we were young. When life was much more carefree. When the most stressful thing in your life was if the boy or girl, you liked, called. When a little brother could make fun of his older brother, with no hard feelings.

Carmen

There is this girl
That Kevin likes alot
When she calls him on the phone
You can tell she's a snot

He asks her out all the time
But she's always sick, or a relative's dying
And when she tells him this
She's always fake crying

She's never said "yes", or even a "maybe"
But he keeps on saying, "Come on, baby!"
He says, "I'm the boss, you just can't admit it
When I snap my fingers, the ladies are here in a minute."

Just a couple of days ago, my mom was cleaning out her office. Going thru boxes of old work papers that had been left forgotten for years. I wondered why she took the time to go thru each of them, when I would have just thrown them out, sight unseen.

I walked in to her office, late that night, both of us exhausted, and she looked up at me and smiled. "I found Jason's poem about Kevin," she said. And then it all made sense. She had taken all that time to look thru each and every paper, just so she could find a small part of her lost little boy. A part that made each of us remember and laugh.

And on this very special day, that would have been my brother's 31st birthday, I thought I would share it with you.

Happy Birthday Jason. We love you.

(the above picture was taken on Jason's 5th birthday. He was quite the fan of The Incredible Hulk)