October 11, 2014

Looks like a couple people who would be the insert in a new frame you bought at Target, right?  Right.

Well…That handsome devil is my brother and the gorgeous woman next to him is my new sister-in-law.  And the insanely amazingly talented Adam Amengual, and best friend to my brother, took these incredible photos.

On October 11, 2014 my not-so-little-anymore-brother got married and I had the indescribable honor of being my brother's Best woMan.  As his only sibling, I mean it quite literally when I say it meant the world to me.  And the best news is, I had recovered from my gender reassignment surgery in time for both the bachelor party and the wedding.  Kidding.  Well, sort of.  I almost won the gokart race at the bachelor party and I wore a jumpsuit and a tie alongside the groomsmen at the actual wedding but you can easily go to my instagram account to see how that all played out for the cameras.  In addition to recovering from my recent post-op, I am nursing a pretty good sprain in my instagraming finger from all the photos I posted (cut me some slack he's my only sibling).

As the Best woMan, I got to toast my brother.  Something I wish I could do each and everyday of my life if there was a way people could smother the people they love with just how much they love them on a daily basis.  Social media should do something about that. Maybe an app or something where you can post wedding toasts you've given (because seriously who remembers the toasts after a night of drinking) and eulogies for people who are still alive (because how much of a rip off is being dead and not getting to hear our own eulogies?  Very annoying in my opinion).  The clincher would be that in order to "like" a post you'd also have to include a photo of yourself ugly crying after reading it.  I think I'm onto something here….

Ugly cry and all, it was a major honor to toast my brother.  And equally as awesome to wear a jumpsuit for the first time.

And because my brother is the single most important person to me outside of my parents, husband, and kids and since there isn't a Toast/Euology app yet, it's important for me to shout at the top of Internet Mountain just how much I love my bro:

It was hard trying to figure out how to summarize all the things I felt like I wanted to say today.

Dee….Do I give you “how to live under the same roof as Mike Goggin survival tips?”  When my advice would be coming from an eighteen year old’s perspective, let alone over 20 years ago, since technically that was the last time we lived together?

Do I say all the standard cliché things about finally getting the sister I never had?  When in truth that’s the exact thing I am very much looking forward to even if it is cheesy to admit?

Do I roll my eyes like the stereotypical sister-in-law and insensitively say, “Oh you just wait until you have kids!”  Because I’m secretly jealous that you and Mike still have a social life? (or maybe not so secretly jealous?)

Do I complement you for the bazillionth time about how awesome you are with my kids and how natural you are at being a kind and loving adult to literally any child that you come in contact with?  Because I could seriously write a list of all your motherly attributes that I wish I had in my own personal arsenal but it would be hundreds of pages long and everyone knows I talk enough as it is.

Do I give advice about marriage?  When I am still learning so much about it myself? 

Maybe instead of all that – I’ll just tell you this:

Words cannot express how much my brother Mike means to me.  He is the only person who was raised under the same roof as me, he is the only person who carries the same Judy/Emmett DNA as I do, he is the only person who has been continually by my side and in my life for as long as I have memories to remember. 

When you know someone in that way and when you share that kind of bond together – you know in your heart when things are right for that person and when they are wrong.  Since the moment you and Mike decided you would give this ‘ol relationship thing a whirl – I have never seen him be so….right. 

There is something about you that lights up his world in a way I can honestly say I have never seen in all of his 33 years.  He is so committed to you, to your health and to your happiness that I couldn’t feel more proud of him and more happy for the two of you that you have decided to embark upon the wild and crazy journey together that is marriage. 

So let me say this, October 11, 2014 will forever be one of the most important days in my own life as I vow to both of you that I will always be here for each of you – individually and together as a couple – no matter what – rain or shine. 

I promise to always be right by your sides for your victories and celebrations as well as for your struggles and your challenges.  And as each year and each anniversary passes, with all the good and the bad that life will surely throw you -- as it does with any of us – each year, I promise to recommit myself to always being an available, consistent and continued support to you as the amazing individuals that you are, and that I love so much, but also as a support to you in your marriage to one another -- something I promise to always help you keep safe and secure over the years.

And Mike...there's just one last thing I want to say to you.  As I stand up here now with three kids of my own and as I'm watching Haven, Ronan and Tommy grow up together -- of all the gifts that Mum and Dad have given us -- and there have been many -- the greatest gift they have ever given me, was you.

With love and a continued commitment to support the two of  you, Mike and Dee this October 11, 2014 and every October 11^th to come…congratulations…there is so much to celebrate today and so many more wonderful celebrations to yet to come.

Cheers, to that.