Old Siblings and New Beginnings

June has been a hectic month, full of changes and progress and things just falling into the right place. it's been the end of an era for some, the beginning of a new life for others. So I dedicate this post to a few people that I love: 

Little thing #6: 

my brother!

In the middle of a New York heatwave, I put on a dress and high heels to watch my brother walk across his high school stadium for one last time. My not-so-little brother was all grown up and survived the tumultuous high school era. It was time for him to become an adult, hopefully with a little more knowledge than I had a few years ago. Wait, scratch that..I was running in my heels, to return a calculator that he forgot to return to the math department. As he was walking down the long path to the ceremony, I was running in the opposite direction to find his teacher, because otherwise, he wouldn't have been allowed to graduate. Sigh. 

After I saved his butt, I found my parents so we could sweat together as we listened to the long stretched out ceremony that becomes a drag right after the last note of the "Pomp and Circumstance", until it's time to take the family pictures and celebrate. I don't know if it was the lack of hydration combined with the sun beating down against my back, but I soon felt a bit of worry. My baby brother isn't ready for the real world! He can't won't even make a meal for himself! How could he be allowed to grow up so quickly. I flashback-ed to the times when he would be running around in his diaper and stealing my colored pencils and erasers, while I whined to my mom that this toddler, 6 years younger than me, was bullying me. I flashback-ed to holiday mornings when we'd wake up and watch cartoons together, or play Power Rangers--he was green, and I was pink. Or how we were so adamant on completing the entire Crash Bandicoot on PlayStation, and didn't have one of those memory savers, so we had a notebook to jot down all of our passwords. 

Basically I wanted my baby brother back. 

But then I snapped myself out of it and realized, he is all grown up. Just like I am. But that doesn't mean he isn't my baby brother. 6 years will always be 6 years, and we'll grow older, and I have to let him make the mistakes I've made, because I'm not always gonna be there to throw a meal together for him or to run after his teachers to hand in his late things. 

he made it! now let's see if I can get him to do his own laundry. =]

as broski starts the next chapter of his life, a girl I can call my sister is also starting a new chapter. 

Little thing # 7, bestie is engaged!

As I secretly celebrated her upcoming engagement, she asked me if I thought he'd propose soon, and told me all about how he had dropped hints. I kept a straight face and nodded along to her assumptions, anxiously holding on to the secret that in just two days, she'd be calling him her fiance. And when the day came, the look of happiness on her face-and the look of relief on his--was enough to see the true love. And as we celebrated with friends and family, the most touching moment was right after she walked in--shocked at the sight of all of us, and saw her brother. their twin connection seemed to open up an emotional floodgate. Amidst the celebrating, both of them knew inside that things were going to change. Of course, they'll be siblings forever, but within the next year, he'd be giving her away to a man who he knew would keep her happy. I'm sure he was also thinking, who'd be around to make him food. (oh brothers.)

Congratulations to the newly engaged couple!

as far as new chapters go, this is the part of the book where it's important to the plot, but I really don't want to read about it...

little thing #8 watching your friends move forward in life

although I hate this more than love it, two of my closest friends are moving on out and shipping themselves away to Boston. these two have been there through thick and thin for me and in a short span of time, I've come to love them like the older brother and sister i never had. we've had our silly moments, our serious moments, and many in-between moments and all I can say is that I'm going to miss them not being a ten minute drive away from me. But I'm truly excited for their new adventure out of New York (as long as they don't replace me!) and I wish them both the best of luck with everything there, and now, I think it's time for them to take a trip to NY,yep.

Especially with this little guy ;)