Normally I might talk about all of my siblings in one big post. This isn't because they don't deserve their own, special, individual posts. It's more a matter of consolidation, because there are only 24 days of Thanksgiving, and there are so many things I'm grateful for!
But since it's his birthday, as a special gift to him, I'm going to talk about my brother, Daniel.
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| On the ski lift in Park City, UT |
I love all of my siblings. Let's be clear about that. I have a unique relationship with each of them. But Daniel was my favorite when I was growing up. It's probably because he was the baby (until Joseph came along, and I was already heading to college by then), and I was the oldest. Also, since he was so much younger than me, he never got on my nerves like Andrew and Alyssa did occasionally.
I'm not saying that he's still my #1 favorite. As I've gotten older, my relationships with all of my siblings have grown into something special. I couldn't possibly pick a favorite now.
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| Rocking a moose hat! |
But when I was growing up... yeah. Daniel was my favorite.
For one thing, he was ridiculously cute. When he was little, he had these huge, solemn brown eyes. He would just look at you, and you wanted to cuddle with him.
Then there was the lace thing. He loved lace. He would find lace, take it carefully in his pudgy fingers, and rub it underneath his nose.
It was so cute! It did cause problems in church, though, when the only place lace was available was on one of his sisters' (or mother's) slips. He would shove our skirts up and attempt to rub the lace from our slips under his nose. It was hilarious, but obviously problematic, so eventually Mom just bought him a length of lace from a fabric store. Problem solved.
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| It's a race! |
As he got bigger, he got goofier. What kid doesn't? But the great thing about Daniel was, he was willing to do pretty much anything I asked him to do. Sometimes I just wanted him to get me a drink of water or a blanket. Other times, I'd tell him to do something stupid, and he would immediately agree.
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| Daniel enjoys a good photo bomb. |
One instance comes to mind: He was about five years old, and I was twelve. I was helping him take a bath, and I thought it would be funny to get a picture of him streaking through the house. Why, you ask? I just told you I was twelve, what more explanation do you need?
So, I told him to wait for the signal. I went and got my camera, positioned myself on the stairs, and shouted, "Now!" He came running around the corner (wearing nothing but his birthday suit) and raced down the hall. I got a picture of the back of him, complete with tiny buns, as he sprinted away on his skinny little legs.
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| The pictures I take of him now are much nicer. :) |
Another time, when we were older (15 and 8, respectively), I was doing a lot of video taping. We were living in El Salvador, and I was making videos for my friends back home.
We found the box of Halloween costumes, and I convinced Daniel to try them on. Most of them were girl costumes, but he had no problem with this. I have some lovely footage of Daniel dressed as a bride, a clown, and a 20's-era flapper. And boy, did he work those costumes. He was clearly enjoying himself.
Daniel is 22 now. To be honest, though, not that much has changed. He doesn't do the lace thing anymore, but he'll still do pretty much whatever I ask. Fortunately, I'm enough of an adult now that I don't make him cross-dress.
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| Dad brought this dress back from Iraq for my mom. |
Much.
Daniel is one of the best people I know. When my little girl was about 18 months old, he came and watched her for a week so Ben and I could go on an anniversary trip. Daniel was only 18 years old himself, and probably would rather have been out with friends, living his own life. But he didn't even hesitate when I asked. He took care of her for almost a whole week, and did a great job, too.
Right after he graduated from high school, when Evie was around eight months old, he watched her every night while Ben and I performed in summer dinner theater. We performed every night but Sundays, so that effectively killed any social life he might have had otherwise. But he was completely willing to do it. I suspect that this is because he's a freaking awesome guy. And Evie loves him completely. He's such a fun, fantastic uncle.
Not only is he great with kids, he's also one of the all-around best people I know.
He's funny, he's charming, he's handsome, he's loyal, he's courageous... I could go on forever.
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| Daniel and Bones |
Right after the Prop 8 stuff was going on, our church had one of its bi-annual conference meetings. The leadership of the church all get together for these events, and it's broadcast all over the world.
Because of Prop 8, there was a lot of anger being directed at the church. Temples and homes had been vandalized, members of the church had received threats, and there was a lot of general ugliness. I found myself a little bit worried that someone might try to assassinate the prophet during the conference. What better way to get back at the church? And let's face it, there are crazy people out there. Joseph Smith, Jr, our first prophet in the latter days, was assassinated. So it's not a completely idiotic concern.
I was telling Daniel and Andrew about my worries, and one of them (I'm not a hundred percent sure which one it was) said, "If anyone came into the conference center with a gun, you know both of us would tackle the guy without hesitation. And so would every other guy there, probably."
And it's true. I know for a fact that either of my brothers (and Joseph, too, once he's grown up) would jump on an armed gunman if it meant saving lives. I remember Daniel telling me about how he chased a purse-snatcher once. He didn't catch the guy, but he also didn't hesitate to try.
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| You don't want to mess with this! |
Daniel is literally one of the very best men I have ever known in my life, and I have known some really incredible guys. I suspect that this is because people like to be around other people who are similar to what they're already familiar with. Growing up in a family of amazing men, it makes sense that I would surround myself with other amazing men in other stages of my life.
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| Evie and Daniel taking on Grams and Joseph at air hockey. |
All of my brothers are incredible, and I could talk forever about all the great experiences I've had with each of them. But Daniel and I have always had such a good, close relationship, that he definitely holds a special place in my heart.
I love you, Daniel, and I'll be grateful forever that I was blessed to be your sister.
Happy birthday!
PS - You're my favorite. ;)
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