When you give a girl a brother, at first she might be very sad and do everything possible to trade him for a sister.

After realizing that this is not an option, she will give up on her efforts and accept him as part of the family.

She will be there by his side as he transitions from a crawling baby to a little boy in his terrible twos.

She will be excited for him when he comes home after his first day of kindergarten super enthused that he made a new friend and got awarded a sticker for behaving well that day.

She will teach him how to make it all the way across the monkey bars, and show him all of the best hiding spots to use when playing hide and seek.

She will say no to his request of running through the sprinkler with him in the backyard, but then give in upon seeing his sad little face.

She will get mad at him for things like leaving food crumbs on her bed, or not putting the toilet seat down.

She will listen to him “play” the new song he just learned on the guitar (even if it means temporarily losing her hearing).

Before she realizes, her baby brother will begin to grow.

She’ll go from having talks with him about his favorite stuffed animal to having talks with him about his girl crushes.

She will find herself giving him advice on what shirt goes with what pants, and whether he has put on too much or not enough cologne.

She will become his personal chauffer when mom and dad are at work, and will find herself waking up at 6 am to take him to summer camp.

She will tell him to go away when she is crying in her room because she just got into a fight with her best friend, or because her boyfriend just left for college, but instead he will come in anyways and lay with her knowing that that’s secretly what she wanted all along.

Again time will pass, and she will begin to see her brother evolving into a man.

A man who will randomly go to the movies with her late at night because she just finished writing a school paper and just really wants to get out of the house.

A man who before used to be 4 feet shorter than her but now stands 4 feet above her.

A man who will ask her for advice on what type of corsage to get for his prom date, or what type of way to ask his crush to homecoming.

A man whom she can rely on to give her honest advice that is wise beyond his years.

A man who will continue to question her, motivate her, teach her, love her, and never leave her.

When you give a girl a brother, you give her one of her biggest pains, but also a best friend, a protector, and ultimately one of the most important men in her life.