Who's 40?

It's hard to fathom that my brother is now 40 years old.  I remember him turning 18 and 21.  Such monumental milestones, or at least to they were to me when I was 11 and 14.  We often had our birthday celebrations on the same day, seeing as our birthdays are 10 days apart.  It made it easier to get the family together, especially as we got older and didn't really do "birthday parties" anymore.  Now that I live 2000 miles away, it isn't much of a possibility anymore.  I do miss that family time, and was thankful to participate in commemorating his birthday, life thus far, via Skype, tonight from our hotel room in Grand Junction, along with the rest of my family, in our childhood home in Montreal.  Thanks for including us :)

I wish my brother would have gotten the chance to meet Preston.  I've seen him with my nephews and niece and he's a wonderful uncle.  I hope that Preston shines down on him, and I hope to one day have little ones that can look up to their uncle Jay.

Growing up, I remember my oldest brother, Jason, being worried that I'd break something.  Everything.  And perhaps I did break things.  A joystick or maybe a well loved toy.  It was sometimes difficult to play with Jason.  Like, I couldn't play Lego with him until I was much older, and by then, Lego was not something he was into.  However, he was always open to playing a board game.  I didn't often win.  Actually I probably didn't win until my twenties, lol.  His competitive spirit though was contagious and I'm sure it's helped me learn that you need "drive" to be successful.  It also made it fun to try and compete in other aspects.  He loved the Nordiques, well, I had to love the Canadiens.  In retrospect, I may have started liking them more because I was easily swayed by my other brother Ted.  And being as I'm the only pure Montrealer in my family, the Canadiens was the right choice! Go Habs Go!  Jay was also really good in school, which gave me that drive I was talking about, to do better.

The age difference between us, 7 years, probably made bonding a little more difficult.  As we got older, I've come to realize that my brother taught me a lot, and learned that we have a lot more in common than I originally thought.  This doesn't mean we didn't have fun as kids.  I was in awe at the Lego village that my brothers built.  There was a lot of organization in that village, year after year, as it grew bigger as sets were accumulated.  We had a blast at our fishing cottage - playing cards, board games and walking in the woods or on the shore looking for fancy rocks.

I think we got closer as adults.  I finally saw what he saw in baseball all those years, after I moved to the states and with the help of high definition television.  I'd always found the sport boring and slow, and I think seeing the game in all it's clarity made it much more interesting.  It's a fascinating sport and I really enjoy the mental game that accompanies the physical aspects of the sport.   Now, we have the pleasure of competing in a fantasy league together.  I did better than him 2 years ago; He did better than I did this past year.  It's on next year!!! :)

Life lessons as per Jay?  Take care of your things or they will break.  Don't be afraid to be independent.  Organization is key.  And a little competition never hurt anyone.  I admire Jay for playing by his own rules, and leading a successful and happy life.  Happy 40th birthday.  Here's to at least 40 more!