I’ve been blessed to havea little sister in my life. Ashley and I have so many shared memories of growing up with little money, budget vacations to the White Mountains and a crazy dad whom we love to drive crazy. It’s pretty easy.

I never had a younger brother though. You know, that kid I could beat up and blame for everything that went wrong. When I married Dorothy, George became my "brother" and we’re about as close as brothers can be.

Then there’s Bryan. I’ve known him since he was pretty darn small. He was that kid in church that all the older ladies would yell at to stop running and sit still. Having ADHD didn’t really help matters.

Bryan and I share a passion – skiing. We’ve gone skiing together so many times that I’ve lost track. He’s always been the kid that I can be rough with, much like an older brother would be with a younger brother. With two older sisters himself, I’m pretty sure he’s used to being picked on. Now that he’s outgrown all of us, I don’t think any of us pick on him much anymore – at least not physically.

Bryan is notorious for sleeping when we travel to (and from) our ski destinations. One time, Stephen (another ski buddy) was driving, I was in the passenger’s seat and Bryan was in the back sleeping. Bryan has always wanted to see a moose, but even with all of our trips into the north country, he has yet to set his eyes on one. I told Stephen that we should play a joke on Bryan. I would count to three and he and I would simultaneously yell "MOOSE!" and Stephen would jam on his brakes. When Bryan woke up, we would tell him it ran into the woods.

"1, 2, 3" I counted softly

"MOOSE!!!!!" (brakes being slammed)

"WHERE!!!???!!!" came Bryan’s excited response.

"Oh, it ran into the woods." I replied casually

"Are you guys serious or joking?" Bryan inquired. Stephen and I just laughed.

"I hate you guys. Now I have a headache." responded Bryan.

He may be too big to beat up, but I can still pick on him. Then we got to the mountain and he kicked my butt in the glades. Man I hate getting old.

Bryan’s mom called me and said that Bryan needed his college senior portraits taken and "you’re probably the only one that can actually get them done." I told her it wouldn’t be a problem.

Just over a week later, Bryan showed up at my house ready to go. We headed to the abandoned factory where I’ve been spending a lot of time recently. The results are below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really like this one…

 

 

…but I LOVE this one!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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