Little brothers, any girl with one could tell you that they are the actual definition of a blessing and a curse.

Whether they are two years younger, or ten, they all share some similar methods of driving you crazy. You know what I’m talking about. When they just absolutely won’t stay out of your room, or the say infamous “She hit me first!” it's enough to pull your hair out. I think every pair of siblings ever has had to be separated in the backseat for having World War III back there. However, despite all their antics, what would our world be without them? Their smiles when they know they’ve done something their big sister would be proud of, or having someone to share the blame for a horrible Father’s Day gift-those things trump it all.

No matter if you and your little bro are best friends, or partners in crime, one day you notice it won’t be too long before he’s taller than you. Impromptu fights won’t be such an easy win anymore. With each birthday he gets older in all sense of the word. You don’t have to be careful talking about Santa Claus, or the Tooth Fairy in front of him anymore. He’s growing up, and way too fast.

I still remember meeting my brother for the first time. No matter how hard I tried to be mad at him for coming out a boy instead of a girl, I just couldn’t help but smile at his toothless little grin. That same toothless grin is what made me immediately decide I needed to be the best big sister I could be. One he could look up too, one that he could tell anything to, and most importantly one that could make him proud.

Now it’s twelve years later, and he’s still the same little pest that made it his life mission to annoy me for the past decade. But, now it’s worse because now he’s an annoying middle school boy.

However, no matter how tall he grows, or how strong he gets, I’ll always pretend I can take him in a fight, or beat him in a race to the door. He’ll always be the little blonde baby I’d laugh at while he ran around in his Spiderman underwear, and Cars Crocs. He’ll always be the brother who sat through countless dance competitions. Even though he would only tell me how bad I was, the “Go Emmy!” I would sometimes catch before going on stage told me he was only kidding.

There’s such a blessing with being so much older, no it’s not that we don’t fight as much as mom was expecting. I think we’ll be those little kids bickering and punching in the back seat until the day we die.

Instead, those years gave me the blessing of growing up with you, in a position where I got to see all his milestones. I’ve played in the sandbox with him, watched him take naps with your Thomas the Train. I’ve watched him grow into the biggest mama’s boy I have ever met. He has the absolute best qualities of my mom and dad. And one day those qualities will help him go wherever he wants to in life. But thank goodness that day is still far away, because for now I still have my annoying little brother, no matter how fast the time’s going by.