My brother, Dean, is 19 today. He’s getting ready to go back to Westmont College this weekend. I have loved having him home for the summer!!!!!
When we were little, Dean and I would play together every day. We both loved stuffed animals, and we would play with them for hours. Sometimes they explored our backyard, sometimes they played baseball on the field we mowed perfectly into our lawn, and sometimes they were entrepreneurs with Starbucks Stores set up complete with plastic croissants, little Starbucks cups, and of course, cash registers.
Sometimes we would spend all day writing intricate stories, or we would make up plays or movies that our stuffed animals would act out. Other times we would gather everything we could find in the recycling bin, grab our duct tape, and enter the world of creating out of cardboard and plastic. When we were in the car together, we would play, “Make me Laugh,” with one trying to do something that would make the other crack up. One of my mom’s very favorite activities of ours (sorry Mom!) was gathering every pillow and cushion in the house into a “Jumping Pile.” We would fling ourselves onto the soft mountain and roll down it… ahhhhh… fun, fun, fun!
Today, as I watch this brother I love so much hop into his ’92 Honda Accord and head to the beach with his surfboard next to him, I feel grateful. To have not only one, but two brothers who bring me joy is something I will never, ever, ever take for granted.
Happy Birthday, Dean! This Mushy Quail loves you so much!
Melinda Marchiano 
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