Nine years ago, a 17-year-old Britney was heartbroken. (Almost a decade has not drastically changed that)...and Valentine's day was approaching. To exacerbate it even further, she would not be going to the Sweetheart's dance...
her SENIOR year of high school...
with ALL her friends...
because the breakup was so recent...
Tragic, right?
In comes her
then pipsqueak of an 11-year-old brother Casey, who asked her on a date instead. After helping all her friends with last minute wardrobe touches, and giving the confidence-boosting "you look gorgeous" talks, Britney drove her red Jetta home, where her younger brother was waiting for her with flowers in hand. Flowers that cost $12, wiping out his entire life savings. Flowers that were nonetheless
his idea, without any "planting of ideas" from Mom.
(Ladies, give him two years to get back from Brazil and then you should snatch this one up. If, at a young age, he already knew the importance of bringing flowers to women and sacrificed to do it, imagine your future).
They then splurged on a gourmet dinner of MEAT at Damon's. Damon's other selling point, besides its steak, was the fact that every table had a radio that could be tuned into whichever sports game you wanted to watch. This may not have been the elegant dinner her friends were dropping hundreds on, but it was more real love than theirs anyway.
A manly dinner could only be followed by a manly movie; "Miracle" was the answer. Despite the night's activities being obviously testosterone enhancing, and a date that Hallmark would only market if they wanted to go bankrupt, Britney walked away feeling truly cared about; someone had noticed her needs and spent meaningful time with her.
And this is when it began...a series of " bro/sis dates;" Urban Dictionary would translate it as follows "Times when a younger brother is sensitive to an older sister's feelings and then uses his wit, spontaneity, and humor to cheer her up."
One night, while eating fattening pasta at the CougarEat, Casey managed to make Britney laugh and postpone quitting her job, in the midst of stealthily surviving an "assassins" game.
Ladies, reason #264 to marry him: he can care about your feelings while under stress.
Even better was the va-ca to St. George. There were some throwback moments to the original bro/sis date, such as a steakhouse and cheesy movies, but scaling red rock mountains, car dance parties, and shopping like mad took it to a whole new level.
Our most recent and our last for a while...Spring Break 2013. Here's how we kicked it up a notch this time: twinner outfits. A necessity that we mistakenly have been overlooking all these years. On one day, when our ESP was the strongest, we matched twice. In the morning we both walked out in dark denim jean pants with rolled cuffs and light denim button-ups and later that night we donned our Jazz shirts.
Also, car dance parties morphed into freestyle about the Jazz. I think we'll join Eric after the mish and go on the road as white rappers. (It's my backup plan for when I get sick of teaching again).
One constant though has been the boy advice; what will I do without Casey here to tell me how to attract the men and then feed me the lines that keep them? It might be a dating famine for the next two years.
But there was an unexpected twist for me this time. My "little" bro all of the sudden didn't seem so little; in fact, I learned from him. While I was racing around, trying to fill our time with thrilling "entertainment," Casey paused and said he wanted to "read." Read what? Oh, just the scriptures. NBD. Oh, he was just prioritizing, putting God first. Good idea, Britney - you should try it sometime. He also, although half joking, put my dating laments into perspective as he reminded me of "Heavenly Father's timing."
And now this boy, who has rescued me multiple times, who continually helps me feel Heavenly Father's love, is going to help others feel it too in Manaus, Brazil. For two years, bro/sis dates will have to be put on hold. But that's okay; He is teaching me about doing Heavenly Father's will.
Heavenly Father, please protect him and help him serve you. I'll be praying for him.
...And... I'll be ready in two years to hit up South America for our grandest bro/sis/family date yet.
