October 8, 2006 @ 12:17 pm | Filed under: Family

"Your siblings are the only people in the world who know what it’s like to have been brought up the way you were."

– Betsy Cohen

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On October 8, 1972, my parents presented me with what was, and still is, the best gift they could have given me.

After four-and-a-half years as an only (though amazingly unspoiled:) child, I became a big sister.

"Saucy" became my new name (a cross between Staci and Sissy) and Kevin became my constant.

I hear tales of sibling rivalry, fierce competition, and untold jealousy and, I’m sorry, I just can’t even imagine.

Maybe it’s the fact that there was one of each gender, or maybe it’s the age difference, but with just a few exceptions, Kevin and I have remained in each other’s corner.

He was my constant.

He humored me by taking on the voice of Ken (and Ken’s buddies) whenever I had a whim to play Barbies.

He understood that Linda and Susan were real (well, in MY mind, at least) and made room for them in the backseat of the car on the way to church.

In turn,he somehow very easily convinced me to play GI Joe and Evil Knievel with him. And I’ve sat in on more than one Lego-building marathan, let me tell you.

He was my constant.

When I was younger, he was the one I’d hurry home from school to share tales of my day with.

When he started to kindergarten, I was the big fifth grader who’d routinely peek into his classroom just to make sure he was all right.

I graduated from high school and promptly left him at home to experience the "only child" treatment. But even that separation didn’t sever our connection.

A few years later, when I had two small children and was staying nights alone, Kevin would show up at my place on Friday nights. After tucking Nate and Jordan into bed, I’d order pizza and then my baby brother and I would watch a movie, eat pizza, and bake (I did the baking, we both did the eating) cookies.

Looking back now, I see that, though we were in very different stages of life, it was Kevin that helped me through some difficult times. He was my friend, kept me company, and loved me no matter what.

He was my constant.

And more than that, he IS my contant.

He’s grown up to be a man that I admire on so many different levels. A loving husband, devoted father, and man of integrity, I’m proud to call him one of the men in my life.

While I’ll always be the eldest (though it’s looking more and more like I won’t be the grayest!) he’s now my contemporary.

Life is funny that way, isn’t it? You grow up with someone, seeing spaghetti plastered on their face, hearing their wails of anguish when you steal (or hide or break) a toy, witnessing countless skinned knees and swollen mosquito bites, finding comfort in the soft sound of their breathing next to you on road trips.

Then you wake up one day and you’re both adults. How in the world does that happen, I ask you?

He is my constant, the gift given to me 34 years ago today. A gift that, although I loved him to pieces way back then, I value even more today.

Like branches on a tree we grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. Each of our lives will always be a special part of the other.

Happy  birthday, Kevin!

Love, Saucy