Happy Birthday, Fairy King!

Well, this post is 2 days late, but Saturday was my amazing brother's 26th birthday. Many of you know that I am best known for my glamorous, sophisticated, and elegant manner of living, not to mention my acres and acres of gorgeous, shiny, bouncy hair. Well, what I am about to reveal may be something of a trade secret, and probably not in my best interests to divulge, but I'm going to do it anyway. I got all my elegant savvy from the Fairy King. (And from Crasey, but this isn't her birthday, so I'm ignoring her for today).

Ah, the Fairy King. Ignoring that brief period in high school when he walked around all goth and affected a 'devil may care' attitude toward life, has there ever been a more graceful and stylish man to walk the planet? I'll give you a moment or two to think about it.

(... thinking...)

(... thinking...)

(... thinking...)

The answer, as I'm sure you've all guessed by now, is no. The Fairy King is the most graceful and stylish man to walk the planet. Sometimes I think I'll never forgive him for getting our mother's family's long slender hands and feet, thick and bounteous eyelashes, and skin that easily tans to a nice smooth all-over brown color after 3.2 seconds in the sun. But then I think, well, whatever. One day my short stubby hands and feet will come in handy, and then won't he be sorry.

Lest you think that I love the Fairy King only for his good looks and charming manner, however, let me assure you that this is far from the truth. I love his loud laugh (LOUD LAUGH). I love that he still, at 26 years of age, runs to hide in the bathroom with comic books the minute dinner is over so he won't have to do the dishes. I love how when I'm sad, the Fairy King is the best listener in the world. I love how he can talk about cars for hours. HOURS. AND HOURS. AND MORE HOURS.

I love that when he finds a book he loves, he rereads it until the pages fall out. I've lost count of how many copies of Auntie Mame he's gone through, but it's impressive. He can recite entire passages. "Eleven o'clock in the morning? That's the Middle of the Night, darling!"

The same thing goes for movies. There is one reason and one reason only that the AmazingPants family can sing every song from The GnomeMobile, an utterly charming Disney film about, you guessed it, gnomes. And little kids who have to save them in their endangered forest from the big agro-exporting corporate bad guys. When the Fairy King was 5 or 6, he would watch nothing else for a period of 6 or 7 months.

These are some of the many reasons I love my baby brother, but even all combined, they don't add up to the biggest reason of all. Quite simply, he is totally reliable, utterly wonderful, and absolutely brilliant at just being there when you need him. Who willingly submitted himself to Insects, Nature, and Sleeping on the Ground when I needed to get out of town and hide out in the woods for a while last year? That would be the Fairy King. When Sheba died, who ran out of work (while his boss threatened to fire him) to run home and be with Mom? That would be the Fairy King. Who stayed awake all night, two nights in a row to take care of Bug while Mom sat in the hospital with SuperDad this week? That would be the Fairy King. (A note: he stayed up all night because he didn't know how to take care of a baby and was completely terrified. He told me later, in tones of disgust and disbelief, "Every time that kid even farted I woke up and ran in to make sure he was still breathing.")

Happy Birthday, Fairy King. I love you to pieces, and I think you're the tops. While the circumstances were less than ideal, I am so happy I was here for your birthday this year.