6.30.2011

Brothers.

Today's post goes out to a couple of guys who have changed my family's life since coming into it. Blaine and Dave. I know, it's sort of a random thing to talk about my sister's husbands... but sometimes I think they become the unsung heroes of the family and I think it's about time to mention it.

The women in my family are amazing, wonderful women. But lets face facts, we are women. As such, we are not easy to deal with all of the time. And if you are a woman reading this, and you think that you're easy to deal with all the time... well... you're not. Sorry.

I have been obscenely blessed in my life to not only have amazing brothers and sisters, but to have those people marry equally amazing spouses. And because this post is about the guys (though I ought to do one about Kim and Rita too!) I want to talk about Dave and Blaine specifically.

Jill is my sister closest to me... the one I remember every single detail of growing up with her. I remember the first time I saw Dave like it was yesterday (how creepy does THAT sound?!). Jill and I were at church and she had been talking about how she had a crush on this guy, Dave. She whispered to me that if I looked over to my, like, 4 o'clock, or whatever- I would see him. Of course it had to be this big covert operation where we did the whole "Okay, don't look. Don't look... okay NOW look!" She had been gushing about how brilliant and wonderful and handsome he was. So of course I was so excited to see who she was talking about. They dated for a pretty short period of time (although not THAT short by LDS standards!) before he proposed to her on her birthday in August.

The thing I love the most about Dave is the fact that you will never meet a more genuine guy in your life. Dave isn't going to try to butter you up, or schmooze with people in order for them to think he's cool or smart. He's just going to be Dave. Who is, coincidentally, one of the coolest and smartest people I know. My other favorite thing about Dave is his relationship with my sister. I have never, in my entire life, seen two people more infatuated with one another. No, Dave isn't going around making puppy dog eyes at her or anything. But you meet these people and you know, within seconds, that you are standing in the presence of 100% real altruistic love. These two would do anything for each other and you can read it on their faces like the words in one of Dave's books. Although I don't know how great of an analogy that is since lots of times I read Dave's stuff and think to myself, "I have NO idea what is going on in this book." Haha, but that's just Dave being brilliant and me being an A.D.D. reader. Dave also has this sense of humor that honestly makes you feel like the luckiest person alive if you get to hear him speak. He's not yelling jokes from the rooftops, or doing slapstick comedy so that he's the center of attention. He's that guy who will be completely silent for like an hour, and then drop some comment on you that makes you laugh hysterically and think, "That's the funniest thing I've heard in the past 6 months!" Dave is a devoted Father and Husband, roles that you can tell his parents instilled in him as the most important ones he would take on in his entire life. I can't imagine my family without him. And the things I see in him as a partner to my sister are qualities that I aspire to find in a man I will some day marry.



Blaine and Charity have been married for well over a decade, which by today's standards is nothing short of a miracle. But somehow they make it look like the easiest thing on Earth. Like anyone who meets him, I just don't have enough good things to say about Blaine. I call him when I want advice. He is so much more to me than just my brother-in-law and has become almost a mentor as well as a close friend. He's realistic, and smart, and kind. He never judges anyone for any reason and could seriously tell someone the absolute worst thing about themselves in a way that would make them feel like they had just won a ticket to Costa Rica. He has the ability to just make people LIKE him. I can't imagine anybody knowing him and thinking, "Man, that guy sucks." Like, the thought of that alone makes me kind of laugh right now.

Blaine, like Dave, has this unfailing love for his wife. For HIS wife, Charity- not an unfailing romantic love for Jill... that would be creepy. Insert joke about Polygamy *here*. But seriously- Blaine loves his wife more than anything in the world. Charity and I have had a number of discussions about how amazing of a husband he is to her and how dedicated he is. I was talking to my boyfriend last week about their marriage and how many things they do together as a couple. We both agreed that it's pretty awesome that they have so many things in common such as their love of Snowboarding and going to live shows. You can tell that Blaine and Charity just enjoy one another. They are best friends, and I think that is really more of a rarity than people realize.

Blaine is an amazing Father to his 3 boys. And you can tell that in the young men those boys are growing into. These are not going to be boys who don't know how to treat their girlfriends and wives some day. They are going to be those guys in High School who are good at everything, smart, funny, and just plain cool. Sorta like Blaine.


I know that from day one, this has been a part of the Great Plan- to have these guys in my family. I admire them more than words can say, and if I am lucky I will one day be married to a man who can hold a candle to them. I love my family, and am beyond grateful for the people in it.

1 comment:

Wilkins Family said...

The fact that I tricked him into marrying me is all the self-esteem I need, cuz' that was plain genious. And this year is #16, yikes! Nice post Megsters, you are a sweet thing!