Birthday buddies

Today is an extraordinary day in the Compan family—two Compan men are celebrating their birthdays!

My older brother, Jeff, turns 37 today, and my nephew, Adam, turns 7. I love that they're exactly 30 years apart; it makes their ages so much easier to remember.

As you might have guessed after reading Brendan's Belated Birthday Blog, I have yet to send a card to either one of those terrific human beings. Per sibling rules, I'm excused from sending Jeff a present, but I did pick out a moving and meaningful (aka funny) $2 card to send him. I bought it two weeks ago, and it has rested comfortably in the flimsy plastic shopping bag ever since. Maybe tomorrow...

Lucky for me Adam hasn't had his birthday party yet. Next week is the big occasion, and David, Noah and I are hoping to make an appearance...and deliver the birthday goods in a relatively timely manner (for me).



A word about Adam: he is another one of my "middle" nephews. His family is made up of my oldest brother, Tim, my sister-in-law, Anita, and Adam's big brother Matthew (8). Adam is a sports and Pokemon fanatic, just like his older brother and his Wisconsin cousins. He plays soccer and baseball, and adds swimming lessons each summer.

Adam and I had a chance to spend some quality time together a few years ago during the annual Compan family vacation in Maumee Bay (an Ohio state park). There were two days when just Mom, Dad, Matthew, Adam and I were vacationing; everyone else had to report back to work (including poor David!). Mom, the boys and I took a few hours one morning and set out through the many-miled boardwalk in the park. It winds through wilderness, corn fields, swamps, etc. The cool thing was that we saw several deer that morning, including a few adorable, cuddly fawns.

During this lazy morning, Adam had a camera Tim & Ni had given him. I believe mom had even gifted him a roll of film so that he could develop the pictures later and make his own book. I walked next to Adam as he shot picture after picture—a flower here, a spiderweb here, a little deer over yonder. It was just a neat place to be with an entirely cool kid. It's one of my favorite nephew memories (and I have LOTS!).

Since I didn't have a chance to talk to Adam today (but I left a message!), I hope he had an exciting seventh birthday with big presents and big adventures.



On the more "experienced" end of the spectrum, my big brother Jeffrey brings so much happiness to my life. For anyone who knows him, he is a boisterous, fun-loving, super-sweet and charming guy.

When I was a little girl, he treated me like all older brothers: he harassed my every insecurity, he gave me "noogies," he punch-bugged me, and he got me so many times with that darn hole game I could scream. As I got older, he grew into his shoes even more by threatening more than one of my potential suitors to treat his little sister with respect... or else. I don't know if his threats frightened my boyfriends or not, but I certainly liked the feeling of being looked after.

Today Jeff and I have bonded over sometimes-scary adult stuff. We both had our hearts pretty darn thoroughly broken—and learned more about each other in those moments than we had in our entire lifetimes. In a wonderful twist of fate, we BOTH had the chance to share secret happiness after our hearts were broken when we found our true loves-of-our-lives. It is a wonderful thing to be brother & sister. Like any other important thing in life, it can take years to fully appreciate this kind of relationship. But I know today what my brother means to me, and I hope he knows it too!

So on this magical day, when two of my loved ones are celebrating their lives, I'd like to wish them an "wow!" year. Whether its Wii games that make them happy or the arrival of a firstborn, there are certainly big things ahead for them both. Happy birthday, guys!!