COLUMN: The day my brother said 'I do'
I thought the hardest part was going to be making sure I didn’t trip while walking down the aisle.
I thought the hardest part would be making sure my hair stayed put and I didn’t step on the bride’s dress. But it turns out, I was wrong. Those things seemed to be the least of my worries.
My brother Adam got married Sunday, and the hardest part of the wedding day for me was making sure I held my composure during the ceremony. I did OK in the beginning, but then I began to tear up as my brother and his wife exchanged vows and the officiate took the time for us to remember our loved ones who have passed.
It was during these moments of the ceremony that everything began to feel more real. It was real. All the planning that had been put into the wedding was finally going to come to life and it hit me that this day approached a lot faster than I thought.
The ceremony wasn’t just about welcoming Adam’s wife, Jamie, into our family, but realizing that my brother was now more than just that. He is a husband and hopefully someday he’ll be a dad, too.
As I watched Adam and Jamie make their commitments to be with each other until death do them part, I couldn’t help but think while they were coming together as one, Adam and I might drift apart.
The thought at first scared me because I thought I might be losing my big brother forever, but I am certain without a doubt that will never happen. My brother was fortunate enough to meet and fall in love with someone who values family just as much as he does.
Taking in the moment of the ceremony reminded me of why I am thankful and feel blessed to call Adam my big brother. I look up to him a lot more than he knows and it’s because of the person he is.
I consider him to be one of the most loyal and genuine people I have ever met. His relationship with Jamie and his friendships with his friends he’s known since kindergarten are standing testimony to that.
Adam and I are just like any other siblings. We don’t see eye to eye on every matter, and there are times we get on each other’s nerves, but if there’s one thing we learned it’s that family is always there at the end of the day.
I know Adam is someone who I can always count on to have my back and give me advice when I need it. While it was hard at first to picture him as more than just my brother, I am truly happy for him and Jamie for they have married their true love.
