Little doogan: living with my best friend

As I type this, my little (not-so-little, actually) brother, Isaiah, is being prepared for surgery to repair his broken knee.  Broken knee, of course, is not the medical term for what is being done, but it is essentially what happened.  While playing an intramural soccer (I know, soccer, his long time nemesis) game, he took a misstep and tore his ACL, MCL, and Meniscus (I know, devastating).  Anyways, he is being prepared for surgery, and I won't lie, I'm definitely quite nervous.  I really hope, for his sake, that the surgery is really successful, and his recovery process is fast and smooth (feel free to say a prayer for him)!

Isaiah is my best friend (Can't you tell)

Growing up in the same house with your best friend is AWESOME, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.  I mean think about it, my parents never had to set a play date for me and and brother to hang out.  When we wanted to play, we just found each other and played.  As noted yesterday, a lot of our play time was spent outside when we were younger. 

Isaiah was an interesting little kid.  From the time he was a toddler, to right before kindergarten, he would chew on a rag (called his bee-bee), and would rarely be spotted with it hanging out of his mouth.  On one memorable occasion, the family was packing for a trip somewhere, (maybe San Antonio to see my grandparents) and Isaiah walked down the stairs with his stack of bee-bees claiming that he was all ready to go (obviously he hadn't thought clothes were necessary).  One day, before kindergarten, he kicked the bee-bee habit, cold turkey, and never looked back (which I think my parents were grateful for).  Isaiah also really (really) liked pirates.  He would frequently grab clip on earrings from my Mom's drawer and wear them as his "pirate earrings" (they were very lady-like).  On any given day, it was not rare for Isaiah to be out in the yard playing war or pirates, by himself (he had a great imagination).  I say all of this lovingly of course, because all kids have quirks, that's what makes them awesome (and little Zay was awesome)!

Once we moved to Maine, Isaiah and I began to play sports together far more often, with one of our favorites being one on one football. We would spend hours in the front yard punting the ball to each other and preceding to run full speed and tackle whoever had the ball (it's really hard to play one on one football). Once we got a little too big for that, driveway basketball became our popular go to. My skill against his athleticism lead to very even matches which made it even more fun! As I type this now, I realize that we also played a lot of garage soccer, knee hockey, and driveway baseball (it was pretty much nonstop). 

Me (in blue) as the doting older brother!

I have always played the role of proud older brother, with Isaiah.  At times, I am sure that he gets frustrated with pressure that I put on him (mostly in terms of athletics and girls), but in my defense, I just wanted him to be successful.  When he was in high school (and part of college) he was an amazing sprinter.  I made sure that people knew that he was really good, and never passed up an opportunity to brag about my younger brother.  When he would win races, I think I was more elated than he was.  He occasionally reminds me of the time that he won his first ever individual state title (the 55 meter dash) in indoor track, and looked over to where I was sitting, only to see me madly jumping up and down pumping my fists (yes, a little bit too excited).  I was very fortunate to live close enough to see him win several more individual state championships (and help his team win two).  

Now, we obviously don't live together, but I always look forward to when I get to visit him, (or on the rare occasions he visits me) because we have such a great time when we hang out.  The last time we were together, I was really impressed how resilient he was, even though he had a hurt knee. He was pretty laid up, but he didn't let that prevent him from getting on the dance floor for a while (or going up and down his treacherous staircase, only falling down them once). 

Last summer, after years of begging, he finally decided to give camp a try, and it was excellent. We shared a room, for old time's sake, and got to take in the magic of camp together. Most days we would go on runs together (it was a struggle to keep up), and meals with the Spofford brothers were always a pleasure for the campers (in my own humble opinion). 

I am so thankful to have three great brothers (I'll cover the older boys more eventually)!! Isaiah graduates in a little more than a month (so crazy), and I am really excited for whoever is lucky enough to employ him!!

*I started writing this Thursday, since then Isaiah's surgery was very smooth and successful, and he has started his recovery process!!