why we can't wait for the baby to meet you.....JAROD

Jarod is (of course) my older brother. Jarod was and is one of the most influential people in my life. For the longest time he was in the top 3 of people I loved most in the world, now with ben and the baby...he is moving down (haha) but he is still one of the handful of people I could not live without. My brother is one of the most unique and special people I know. He can be so incredibly fun, funny, and laid back and the next minute be the most OCD, controlling, and anal retentive person you have ever met. That is all part of the wonderfully unique person he is. When I was younger we could not have been more night and day. I was carefree, messy, into everything, loud, and most of the time annoying. Jarod was responsible, a neat freak, quiet and reserved. Most people who are close to jarod will tell you he was born being about 40. I cannot complain though this worked to my advantage many times during my youth when jarod would always take care of me and protect me. He took his role as a big brother seriosuly and never let me down.

I have so many memories of jarod that it is hard to pick my favorites. Everyone's favorite story (of course I don't remember) was when I was born and jarod first saw me he said "I don't want that one, I want a bigger one". He was under the impression he was getting a playmate not a baby. Many years later he treated me like such when he used me as his tackling "buddy" while practicing for football. For some reason he thought I should learn to block. I still remember being in the back yard with him telling me to plant my feet, slightly bend my knees, sink the hips....apparently I never mastered this cause somehow I always ended up on the ground. Jarod and I were buddies though, back to us being opposites jarod was afraid (and still is on some things)of everything and I was fearless. One example is that jarod was terrified of sleeping alone and could never go to sleep so in order to keep him out of their room my parents made me move into his room with him. Maybe mom can help me on this but I am pretty sure we slept in bunk beds in his room for 2-3 years. Other favorite memories are when jarod first learned to drive and we rode in his little red pickup papaw had given him every day to school. The pickup smelled like chickens and jarod would play "Like a Rock" every day for the whole ride. Anyone who has ever listened to this song knows that it last like 9 minutes. Also when Jarod learned to drive we didn't have to ride with mom and dad to church anymore so jarod would drive us and we would go to the donut shop and not tell them. I loved those mornings. Jarod and I have had countless family trips, outings, and days together. It is impossible to tell you all my favorite memories of him because that would include almost every favorite memory I have for my life. Jarod has been my only brother and sibling so this makes our lives woven together in such a unique way. Growing up we were all each other had.

Jarod is one of the people I look up most to. I am so incredibly proud of him and who he has become. I could not have asked for a more loving brother. He is an amazing christian, friend, son, brother, and future uncle. I am so excited to see him be an uncle because I know he will be the best uncle ever. He will pass on his pearls of wisdom and probably correct me when I don't parent correctly (what are big brothers for?) but more than that I know he will love my children almost as much as I do. I am so excited about our future and how our family is going to expand. In our latest years jarod and I have become closer than ever before. He actually calls me for advice!! Ben thinks of him as a friend and I know our children will think of him as the fun uncle they can't wait to go see. It was hard for me to write this because it is hard to put into words how you feel about someone who is such a constant in your life. That's what jarod is to me, he is constant. He has been there since the day I was born and every day in between. He is one of the few people who (whether he likes it or not) will walk through all the days of my life with me. Next to my husband and my dad I could not love or respect any man more than I do jarod.