It's a Brother thing

22nd April 1991....that was the date that changed my life forever..up to then I was an only child, I was 2 and a half years old and running wild...well not that wild!

This was also the date I got a life long friend, someone to play with, someone to annoy when I'd finished annoying my parents.

You were trouble from day one so I'm surprised we didn't send you back...you came out too fast and put mums body into shock...even tho it was fast you still managed to find time to do your two favorite things, have a shit and then eat...and yes it was the poo you ate...then you had to be taken to get cleaned up and make sure all the poo had gone...I turned up not too long later with grandma to see my new baby brother.

When you came home you had a nice little cot and blanket...so since it was so nice I decided to come along and take the blanket off you and put it over my teddy bear...well a teddy bear needs to be loved too...

I think its important for children to grow up with brothers and sisters instead of growing up alone, we were always there to have a laugh together, whether it was with our Action Men or out on the streets with our bikes...roller-blades were good too when we finally got the hang of them..

One Christmas we got a sledge each and when it snowed we went to the school field and would slide down the hill - fun times, we even got mum to pull us all the way to school on it a few times...thankfully it wasn't too far..

When we went on our first holiday abroad it was to Spain, we decided to play hide and seek, I hide at the top of the wardrobe and you couldn't find me because you weren't tall enough to see me up there...either that or the bump on your head from trying to jump under a bunk bed messed up your mind..

Its funny to think that even though we have had the same up bringing how different we have both become...those were the days when mother used to dress us exactly the same and people would ask if we were twins...even tho it was obvious since you were half my size..now you have caught up and some people mistake you for being the eldest...well what can i say -its not my fault I'm youthful..

You may not be the brightest bulb in the box but your a lot smarter than some people think...I'm the only one who can tease you as its a brothers right really and that's what I'm here for.

All family members never fully see eye to eye and argue about something, and although we're not perfect we have always got on really well and never had a massive bust up, and that's probably because we are good friends as well as brothers..

Some of the things you have said and done over the years have made me laugh...I remember the first thing you said to me when I came out as gay - 'If anyone has a problem i'll batter 'em'...maybe not what I expected but I knew that was your way of saying everything is still cool between us...it wasn't long before other questions started like- 'Do you fancy yourself naked' and 'Do you feel like a girl in a boys body' there were others too...Thankfully I found the questions hilarious.

Your the clown of the family and your as mad a a hatter, but I wouldn't change you for the world...I hope we always stay close and never loose sight of what really matters.....that we are...after all....brothers!