For the past two or three years, I have been doing my ‘December Diaries’. Attempting to write every single day for a whole month, and it’s always a challenge. This year, I am taking a break from that, and I am going to focus on ’30 Days of Thanks’. A friend of mine on Facebook is writing something that she’s thankful for every single day this month, and I was obviously inspired.

Since I am already a day behind, I’m gonna have to step it up.

Today (and everyday), I am thankful for my little brother Jordan. He’s seven years younger than I am, so he hasn’t always been one of my favorite people. Can you imagine a nine year old girl dealing with a younger brother going through his “terrible twos”? Yeah, we didn’t always like each other.

I can say though, that when I went to California for the summer of 2005, that kid changed a lot. He grew out of a few things and just became one of the coolest people I know, and I am so thankful for that. Not only am I a better and more compassionate person because I’m his sister, but I am related to someone I am actually friends with. He listens when I ramble, and he taught me how to play chess, and has kicked my ass at Mario Kart too many times to count. One of my favorite stories to tell people is when my brother stood in our kitchen on Thanksgiving, and showed us his dance to Usher’s ‘Yeah’. I laughed so hard that I fell out of my chair, but I also gained a whole new respect for him, because he took it seriously and wasn’t afraid to get up there and do his thing. To this day, every time I hear that song, I will tell anyone within earshot that story. And proudly.

It’s also his birthday today, and I am the proudest sister of a twenty year old who is no longer a child. I am crazy thankful to know him.