Hangin' Out

Hangin' Out With Randy, Leslie's Den Canon Rebel 300D

My brother. Three years my junior yet three feet taller than me!
Okay. I'm exaggerating. Maybe one and a few inches.
But I am telling the whole truth when I say I have missed him so very much.

We drifted apart way back when our lives were running full speed ahead.
Too speedy for comfort, or for our own good if I may add.
Now that we have families and kids of our own
Life has balanced out.
Thank God!

We used to play together a lot as kids.
Hide and seek, bike racing, sliding downhill on coconut branches, chasing each other scared-silly with snake-laden photos of Medusa from the Wonderful World of Disney encyclopedia
And there's our favorite "sprikitik" -
A game my brother invented wherein we inched our way up Inang's blue and green tile pillars and slide down fast
That got us our shots from our disciplinarian grandmother
She said it was too dangerous to be climbing up and sliding down those slippery pillars
We'd sneak out of the house during nap time and did it anyway
And we'd get caught each time
And we'd earn a good spanking each time
And you bet we'd cry our eyes out each time

I made my brother cry a lot
And he made me and my sisters cry a lot
I remember how at one time, my big-sister-discipline act got a bit too far
I accidentally - well, somewhat accidentally - smeared chili into his eyes
And I'm talking about those tiny, scorching hot variety we call "siling labuyo"
Ooh, how I regretted trying to act like little pretend mom that day

That made him cry lots
That made me cry lots...after I got my spanking from our real mom.

We laugh about all this now
And speaking about laughs this guy makes me laugh big time
He's got that natural comic timing that sends me laughing until my sides hurt and tears are rolling down my cheeks
The last time we had a laugh fest it was in a restaurant called Chili's
(I guess for old "siling labuyo" time's sake! haha)
I was laughing so hard I couldn't concentrate on ordering my food
Of course it didn't help that we had a few rounds before that

I'm so proud of my brother.
Randy is so talented I don't even know where to begin.
He's an excellent artist, a computer wiz, an entrepreneur, a cook, a baker, a golfer, a swimmer (and he saved my bestfriend, Myra, from drowning once!)
He has two amazing daughters - my darling nieces, Sandra and Martina, speaks a total of five languages and can do two full hours of cardio without breaking for air
And the list goes on and on
Did I mention that he's also a champion triathlete?
He's also the reason why my sisters and I are all crazy about cycling at the gym

I've missed my brother so much.
Our getting close again is an answered prayer.
There's nothing like being able to hang out and talk about everything and nothing.
There's nothing like being able to laugh those snicker-snort laughs until you cry.
There's nothing like being one complete big happy family once again.

And am I glad that to this day, we can still make each other "cry".

I love you, bro!