Another Birthday

It's my oldest brother's birthday today. I'm not sure how old he is. I'm not very good at remembering years. I think maybe 33? 34? Either way... Happy Birthday!!!

For a post about him... it's going to be more of a narrative. Growing up, because he was "so much" older than I was, I feel like I didn't really know him. Our lives were always at different stages.

For the past few years, we've kind of leveled off. We're both adults, albeit adults in different stages. He's had a career and a family for a while now... I'm still single going back to get a Master's degree. I've been able to visit him and his family a few times and have loved each visit. While he's often had to be at school or work, we've had some time in the evenings with lively discussions.

Because he went to law school in New York, it gave me a reason to go visit Manhattan. He and Sara were great about letting me come for a week and showing me things in the city. The first Broadway show I saw was with them and it was 42nd Street (I think that's what it was called, and maybe it was "off-Broadway"... I can't remember). It was a really neat experience. They taught me how to ride the subway and buses to get where I needed to go, and Sara dropped me off at the Metropolitan Museum (amazing!!!) to leisurely browse my way through, and then gave me a map and cell phone showing me how to get home. If I hadn't gotten lost in the medieval armor section, and completely confused when trying to find the way out of the museum when I was "finished" (is it possible to feel finished with the Met???) I probably would have enjoyed it a little bit more.

Because I decided to walk home and got a little confused with the map... I ended up walking through Harlem a little bit. That was fun. It was signs like this that tipped me off:

(Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. intercepting Frederick Douglass Blvd.)

I've also been able to enjoy Phoenix a couple of times and have loved being able to spend time with him and his family.

Adam's been a great person to go to when I need advice or just another few ideas for which direction my life should take. He also recognizes that while he's giving me advice I may or may not take it. But I'm very comfortable talking through different things with him.

I also want to say that he is a very gifted writer. He'll occasionally write for some kind of law journal (?) - okay, I'm not exactly sure what it is, but he copies us on it and I really enjoy reading them.

Also, he's a great example of a husband / father putting great importance on spending time with his family. He's a busy lawyer, but takes time to coach for different teams that his kids are on, and just seems to be very good at spending time with them in general. I've admired that in him and know that it's important to him to do that.

This maybe isn't a very exciting or fun "tribute," but I really just want to say, Happy Birthday Adam!!! I'm excited to see you all soon!