bubby

 Bill, 17 and I, 1 1/2 in our family friend's pool.

Today I've been thinking about my family and a lot of things that I remember over the years from family trips, to reunions to just random moments that stick out in my memory.  I wanted to blog about something family related today and had no idea what exactly, but then I read Kayley's blog post about her brother Andrew, and decided to do something similar.  No, it's not my brother's birthday or anything, we're not really close seeing as there is a 15 year gap between us, but he's my brother regardless.  And even though he goes by a variety of names including, Billy, Bill though his name is really William.  I still call him Bubby after 17 years of being his sister.

• Waiting for the bus together one morning when I was headed off to Kindergarten.
• Getting lost at Disneyland together when we got separated from mom and dad.
• When he gave a NSYNC cd for Christmas that he bought overseas...partially because he didn't really know what to get me.
• Forcing me to go on Space Mountain, when I was terrified of most rides. Promising he'd buy me ice cream.
• The one day I had missed the bus and dad's keys were no where to be found.  The first time I had ever been driven to school by my big brother.

• The night when mom sent us to Sonic to get her tea because the Legion didn't have any that night and eventually led to driving the back roads around town in his new truck.  And then tried teaching me how to drive, but was too terrified of wrecking his new truck I refused.
• The day, years later when he finally bought me my ice cream from riding Space Mountain with him.
• Fishing at the family pond together.
• Riding for hours on the four wheeler.
• The mud war we had the spring of '08 involving ALL the neighbor kids...mom is still kind of mad about that.
• The garage sale down the road from us when he bought the remote controlled bulldozer and then proceeded to teach me EVERYTHING about it, inside and out.
• Being mistaken as father and daughter at the local grocery store.
• Attempting to help him study for his CDL.
• Teaching me self defense.
• Fireworks with dad. We're still getting in trouble for that too.
• Teaching me how to shoot.
• The roadtrip to Missouri for fireworks with mom and the best friend.
• That fourth of July, when we got in trouble for blowing up a good tupperware bowl in order to light all of the firecrackers so mom would give us more money to go get more fireworks.
• Seeing Chicken Little at the movie theatre's at like midnight, and then going to Wal-Mart.
• Helping him and his family move into town.
• The day he tried taking me and my nephew into a shooting range and couldn't shoot because he wasn't my parent.
• Surprise 30th birthday party we threw for him down in Texas. I'm still trying to get over the shock on his face.
• His wedding day, taking photos together and tricking me into making weird faces.
• Taking me out to shoot the 12 gauge.

These memories are all the ones I can really remember, and are most of them.  Bill was in the Marines for several years, and was away a lot of the time, and hasn't really been around too much except for the time he moved back in with us when he first got out of the military.  I've said some hurtful things to him, but he's still my big brother that would probably do anything for me.

You probably won't see this Bubby, but if you do at some point, just know I love you. Even though I don't say it as much as I should, it's completely true.