We had dinner at Maggiano's, which was delicious as always.
"I'll have a side chopped salad, and the..." I awkwardly paused and pointed to fancy Italian entree name on the menu. The waiter stared at me. "...uh, this...um...chicken dish with lemon butter..."
Still no help.
He was going to make me struggle.
"The Chicken Fran...fra...francese?" I managed.
"Ah, the Chicken Francese," he replied in perfect Italian.
Jerk.
Anyway, despite my being forced to botch up the beautiful Italian language, dinner was marvelous.
Afterwards, we went to Joel's place and had cake and ice cream with his roommates. Except he was sneaky and secretly cut the cake himself before we could put candles in or sing!
His loss- he is minus one birthday wish now.
I still cannot believe my older brother is 27-years-old.
He's always been the absolute best big brother anyone could ever hope for.
I can remember perpetually following him around as a child and having to confirm everything with him. I would end each of my statements with, "...right, Joel?"
"We're going to a Reds game tonight...right, Joel?"
"Mom is making us piggy in the blankets for lunch...right, Joel?"
And so on and so forth.
He never got annoyed or mad. He would just nod and confirm, "Right, Jenna. Right."
When he made his First Communion at the age of 8, Joel asked our mom if he could use some of his gift money to buy me a doll I had been wanting.
In high school, when I was an awkward-looking freshman (think braces, round cheeks, and those terrible Hollister jean skirts), Joel and his cool senior friends would say hello to me and make me feel like less of a dork.
Every Valentine's Day, Joel will bring me a bottle of wine or a bunch of chocolate over.
He always checks in on me and makes sure everything is okay in my life despite his very crazy work schedule.
Happy 27th birthday, Joel!
I love you very much, and I am so fortunate to call you my big brother.
Here is hoping that this is your best year yet!
...right, Joel?
Ahh this was so sweet! Happy birthday to your dear brother! He sounds great!
ReplyDeleteOh my, Jenna, he sounds absolutely perfect! Like, could you introduce us some day? :) Happy belated b-day to him, and thumbs up to you, you really are lucky to have such a wonderful brother!
ReplyDeletexx Ivana
Macarons and Pearls