Two decades later...

Baby Bro is 10 years, 8 months and 16 days younger than me. It's easier to just say 10 years. I still remember seeing him for the first time in the hospital. On the one hand, I was so excited that I was no longer 'the baby' in our family. On the other hand, he was another brother. I already had a brother who tickled me until I peed my pants, made me lie to my parents that I still believe in Santa under the threat of no more presents, and yelled at me when I got Junkyard (the dog in G.I.Joe) stuck in the hovercraft. Okay, maybe I deserved that last one. But did I really need another brother?

Family from out of town meant that I was sleeping in the cot and Baby Bro was on the ground.

He had a nightmare so he joined me in the cot.

In the end, I wouldn't trade Baby Bro for all the sisters in the world. He is, as I often often described him, me in male form. We share the same love of Star Wars, Stargate, and Doctor Who. We never cease to find the humour in South Park, Simpsons, or Monty Python. We have a shared language only we understand like twins separated by 10 years of cryogenic freezing. He tried to explain to his mom once "you don't know what it's like to always have a song in your head, to hear a phrase and have it immediately remind you of some obscure song, then to feel the need to sing that song out loud." That is every social interaction I've ever had summed up in one sentence.

Standing beside an elephant skull in Tarangiri NP, Tanzania

Twenty years ago today, my best friend was born. Happy birthday to my 6" tall, rugby playing, baby brother.