Can I just say that I have the coolest family EVER?!!! One of the best parts of living away from family is that when family comes to visit I get them all to myself. When you come from a family of 8 kids you rarely get that one on one time for an extended time. Obviously it is the pits not to see family regularly, but I love nothing more than to have family in my home.
Steve is the brother who is just younger than me. During our college years we spent some quality time together working at the pool near campus and commuting to and from the pool and school together in the beloved family "Bruiser". Steve has a magnetic personality. Even though he was one of the younger lifeguards (thus technically a tool), he is such a funny guy EVERYBODY LOVED Steve, and I was guild by association. Even the super cool sorority girls who worked at the reception desk loved Steve. On Friday nights at the pool you could find Steve, Reagan, and I at the front desk feverishly pouring over the Privet Eye "Men Seeking Men" and "Women Seeking Women" section of the paper to see which of our desperate patrons had put them selves out there that week.
While Steve was here he reminded me of one of my all time embarrassing moments. One of the joys of working at the pool was its proximity to the campus. On football nights the management would rope off sections of the parking lot to gouge football enthusiasts pocket books. I have never been a football fan so being the looser I was I would sit in the parking lot and collect money to park cars. One night Steve's best friend and his brother parked in the lot before the game. They came over to chat with us for a bit before heading to the game. Mark (the older brother) has eyes so obviously thought I was cute and later asked me out on a date. We went out on one date, and obviously I wasn't that unforgettable because when he came to pick me up my friend opened the door and he thought she was me. Anyway, shortly thereafter I went to Russia for 6 months. While I was there Mark and I e-mailed (yes e-mail existed *barely* then) a few times. About a month after I got home from Russia I got a phone call from Mark one Sunday night. My family was just sitting down to dinner so I was a little rushed. The conversation went something like this, "Hi, so you are home from Russia... That's great... Did you have a good time?...) I had to cut to the chase to make it down to dinner (I don't miss meals). So he cut to the chase and asked me if I wanted to go out sometime. I said sure and that I would call him after dinner. After dinner I called him back and our conversation went something like this, "Hi, so you are home from Russia... That's great... Did you have a good time?...) I am thinking, "Man, this guy is either a huge dweeb or extremely nervous" . I decided to help him out so I decided to remind him why he called, "So, did you want to go out sometime?" The jerk stammered for a minute and finally said, "Well, I would really like to, but I am kind of seeing someone really seriously right now." I was furious. I couldn't figure out what kind of jerk would set me up like that to tell me he was dating someone else. I went down stairs after the conversation and told Steve what a looser friend's older brother he had. Well being the killer little brother he was, Steve marched himself over to Mark's house and chewed him out. Mark had some sad story about how he never asked me out and it was me who asked him out. Whatever! I was outraged. Steve was outraged for me. What a brother. Well, a couple of weeks later I got a phone call from my friend Jupawsly's older brother Mike. Jupawsly was in France for the summer so she was out of the picture for the moment. Mike chit chatted for a minute and finally said, "So, you never called me back. Did you want to go out sometime?" I fell over. It was MIKE not MARK who called me. Doh! I felt so stupid. I am not the kind of gal who calls up guys (I hardly know!) and ask them out. I wasn't cool enough to laugh it off either. Instead, to this day, I avoid Mark at ALL costs. Which was kinda a full time job at Steve's mission farewell and homecoming and wedding.
Say what you will about Steve, he may be a huge coward when it comes to monster spiders scratching paper under his bed, he may be a huge pest when it comes to demanding you to pluck hair from unmentionable parts of his body, he may be the bossiest back seat diver in the universe, but he is loyal through and through. Thanks for going and chewing out Mark for me all those years ago Steve! You're the best!
We finally broke down and bought something that was better suited for our family. A GRANITE table. Seriously, shouldn't a GRANITE table (and a moving crew) just come with a new baby? All of you ladies registering for items for that little bundle on the way would be adding this item to your list if you saw what these kids did to our last table!
This table has easily become my favorite piece of furniture (however low the bar may be). Not only is it indestructible, mirror-like, easy to clean (the last table came with upholstered chairs!), but we got it for a SCREAMING deal on Craig's List. It even still had its tags on it. Go us!
