wes + kinsey

Wes: he is the most irritatingly lovable person I know. I can simultaneously want to hug him and smack him. Growing up right under him, I was frequently his patsy  & occasionally (when he was feeling gracious), his partner in crime. I can't recall a single instance where Evan & I managed to gang up on him; Wes made sure he was always on the winning side, pitting the remaining two of us against the other while somehow contriving to appear purely innocent. Ev & I both adored him & were gluttons for punishment. It didn't matter how many times we got burned by his antics; we kept coming back for more. Manipulative is an understatement. But he didn't do it meanly. He did it simply for sport & pure enjoyment. And he has never lost an argument...at least in his mind. Though there was his crowning debate in that instance of the great North Pole argument. He was right. And boy, does he have a quick wit. He is the king of comebacks & pranks. I will never forget the night I came into my bedroom after another lengthy grooming session on the bathroom. Wes had inevitably needed the bathroom as soon as I entered & locked the door. He banged on the door for a while, vainly attempting to rush my 16 year old self. Nothing doing. But he got his revenge when I came blissfully unaware into my bedroom, completed the last minutes of my night time routine & turned to climb into bed only to find him in my bed, shaking with silent laughter as I shrieked to find a person in my bed who'd obviously been there for the whole routine! That's Wes. Quick in his feet. I could never get any sort of revenge worthy of his pranks. When we got into high school, he continued to slide out of trouble & get me in it: I served a Saturday detention due to tardies that were the result of his sleeping-in habits while he slipped through his senior year with nary a tardy to his spotless reputation. After high school, we both attended Ohio colleges, giving us a special bond none of the other siblings shared. And then we both moved back home. The pranks were fewer then, & we had some good late night chats over our shared Christianity. Those are some of my favorite memories of my closest (in age) brother. We haven't lived in the same state for over a year now, with me in California & now married in Oregon. But he tells me we'll probably be seeing a little more of each other now than expected. Because, you see, he's getting married to a girl with some Oregon roots of her own. And I am so happy for both of them:) Wes, I wish you & Kinsey the best. May God bless you both & give Kinsey patience & a good sense of humor to deal with your antics!! On a more serious note (to which I can just hear your biting sarcastic retort about the extent of my cheesiness & sappy marriedness), I love you dearly & hope life from here on out continues to be as interesting & enjoyable as it has been so far.