John - Not Only Leprechaun, But A Brother ** was supposed to get posted on December 6

Today is my wee brother's birthday. He is 24. He is getting old. He lives in Whistler now. I miss him. He will not be coming home for Christmas. I am sad about that. I will miss our annual trek to a local pub to just catch up and vent and be. I will miss fighting with him about how much time he isn't spending at home, and how he isn't helping with supper, how he needs to get off the computer, etc. I will miss Dad complaining about the rapid consumption of whiskey. I will miss the onslaught of his friends (that I also grew up with) coming over. I will miss wrestling with him, and the responses of Mom and the cats to that wrestling. I will miss all the new music he would expose me too. I will miss watching movies with him. I will miss tobogganing with him, visiting Grandma and Grandpa with him, having his presence around when we go to see our other Grandparents, playing global warming games of catch with him. I will miss his big, hairy, brother hugs.

Happy birthday brother. You are most definitely loved and missed.



Oh yeah. I forgot the other part of this while I was in the middle of being emotional...

John has a new job in Whistler. He works at the Whistler Sliding Center - that is where the bobsled and luge and skeleton happen. He works on the track there. If you go here you can look pictures of the track. While you're looking at those pictures you'll see one of two guys in a bobsled and outside of the track two guys with swiss type coats on. In that picture it says that its Pierre Lueders and Justin Kripps. But its not says John, its the head coach of the bobsled team and John. Pretty cool.

John has also luged - been on a luge. Yeah, however you say that...



(writing on the correct date now)

Its Christmas Eve - we go to church - Mom and Dad are in the choir, which means with no sibling around I'm going to have to sit by myself or with some random person i see 4 times a year. Also, with a Wii around a brother would help to play with, or for mixing drinks, skating on the driveway, doing dishes, and all the other things listed in the above paragraphs.

Not having your little brother home for Christmas is not fair.