My brother at 17 and me at maybe 6 months. Sorry about the quality. It's an old snapshot.

My brother is wonderful! He is seventeen years older than I am but when I hit adulthood, the age difference vanished. We are totally different. I am more outgoing and he is more quiet. I am more….umm….bossy and he is more laid back. He is smarter (I hate to say that because he reads my blog) than I am but I am more loud so it’s not so noticeable.

When I was in school, he helped me with algebra and all things numbered. He was an electrical engineer specializing in statistical analysis. Can you imagine a more boring profession? I am a human resources/training professional. He figured out why production isn’t up to snuff and I figure out why people are nuts.

There have only been two areas where we are competitive. For those of you who remember the Smothers Brothers, we also argued as to “who mom loved best.” My mother refused to be a part of this nonsense. Since the men in my family die younger than the women, he has always wanted to outlive me (despite the age difference) and he seems to be doing pretty well at that goal.

He married someone who is way more outgoing and chatty and that’s probably a good thing. They married when I was young so in my memory Betty has always been in the family. When I was younger she read me Winnie the Pooh but she would only read a chapter at a time. That was so mean. It would take a whole week to get to the next chapter.

I have always been close to both of them and we have taken many New Jersey shore vacations together. We talked, read books, ate clams, walked the beach and hit the shops. He, of course, checked out the bikinis. (He always says he is old, not dead.)

Yesterday we all went on a Christmas house tour. It was just like old times. We bickered about the best way to get from house to house. I, of course, insisting I am right (I was) and he just ignored me and drove where he wanted to. It didn’t matter. We did all the houses and lunch in the allotted time. It was a great time and I am ok if he outlives me.