Dear Luis, Luisypoo, Andresito…

You are getting married on Saturday. Luis, you are getting MARRIED on Saturday. Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were sword-fighting with sticks outside of mom’s PTA meetings? Wasn’t it just the other day that we were turning every.single.piece.of.furniture upside down in the living room building forts with sheets? Or, just recently, in college, that we chose to skip a tour of Milan so we could sleep in our hotel room after we found out that a push of a button made it feel like it was night time in the day time? (Sorry, mom.)

Time flies.

Some of you reading this might know my brother in a personal sense, others in the professional. I’m here to let you know that as his older sister, I’ve had the unique opportunity to see him grow in both aspects. As such,  I wanted to share a few things about Luis that I think that world should know:

1. Sic em. He was a Baylor Bear for one summer study trip abroad.  Since we’re going to be surrounded by a room of Aggies come Friday and Saturday, I’m just going to put that fun little tidbit of information out there.
2. Batman. Since he was little, this guy has been Bruce Wayne’s #1 t-shirt holding fan club member.  His dolls – ahem, action figures – had their own space on the respectively-themed bed spread set; often resulting in over very sleepy little Luis hanging off the side of the bed while several Batmen slept like kings.
3. Beer-maker extraordinaire.  During Luis’ first year at A&M, he set it upon himself to learn how to make beer. Several exciting concoctions later led to his writing off the entire operation altogether – choosing to become a beer connoisseur instead.  Seems to me the latter is easier, but word to the wise – it seems that the darker the drink, the fancier he feels. 🙂
4. He’s a foodie. If you’re ever in need of a good restaurant recommendation, Luis will be able to guide you in the right direction.  Check his phone – much memory is spent on this important research. As much as I have teased him about it, I promise you that whatever he recommends will be delicious and memorable.  If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have tried the amazing Katz’ sandwiches from “When Harry Met Sally,” or the most delicious Memphis BBQ from Corky’s.  Many great meals have been a result of Luis’ findings – so trust – go to him for recommendations.
5. He celebrates Movember. Come November, my brother will embrace the beard in all of its gloriousness and will be rendered unrecognizable – all in the name of men’s health awareness.  “Awareness.” Just know we all deal with it for about a month, and then my brother comes back to the surface.  (FYI – I will take this moment to remind you, Luis – SCIENCE says not to do it.)
6. Phase 10.  Anyone that has spent more than an hour with my family will know that Phase 10 (it’s a card game) plays an integral part of our get-togethers. If anyone wonders how this phenomenon came to be, please turn around and thank my brother. This was all his doing and we have had several years of fun banter and game-playing around the kitchen table because of it. (Sidenote: we can also thank him for teaching my mother how to share articles on Facebook… moving on…)
7. He is a Jokester. Luis can turn just about everything into a joke. Me needing to get “Soccer for Dummies?” before going and working in professional soccer? Forget it – he had enough material with just that to tease me for the rest of the time I was in New York.  You can always count on my brother for a laugh, which is an amazing characteristic for anyone to have.
8. Adventure Buddy. At the time of this writing, Luis and I have had the fun shared experiences of white-water rafting in the alps, yodeling in with experienced yodelers in Austria, fainting (me) and recovering from the fear of it (him) on the London Tube, jumping into the warm ocean’s of Huatulco, [NOT] going up the Eiffel tower (seriously – I know), picking out our dream Ferraris at the Ferrari museum, driving to drop him off in North Carolina, getting into shady vehicles to bring back a few gifts home in New York, jumping off small cliffs into rivers in Mexico, more white-water rafting… you get the drift.  This guy is down for whatever and we’ve had so many fun adventures because of it.

So here we are, a lifetime of memories later, to one of the most significant moments in your – and therefore our – lives. My little brother, you sir, are getting married on Saturday. As I take the 13 months I have on you as the older half of our two-children household very seriously, here are two big things I wish for you guys:

1. I wish … that you both stay true to yourselves and develop your own interests.

One of the beautiful things I look forward to the most in marriage is having a partner with whom, together, we can be the architects of our lives united.  That said, I don’t believe that one as an individual ever stops growing or learning; I feel that it’s important to also keep pursuing the things that make you unique from each other. It was the uniqueness of Maria that drew you to her in the first place, wasn’t it? Keep true to you and keep growing in your interests – while encouraging Maria in pursuing hers.  I hope that you and Maria both find activities and interests that spark your creativity and enjoyment. I hope that you never stop being each other’s biggest fans and cheerleaders.

2. I wish … that you make sure both of you are fed and happy.

I know that this sounds silly, but in this day and age its so easy to be self-absorbed that thinking about the little things that might make the other smile, often get overlooked in the daily. So while I would wish that she always makes sure you are doing well, I want you to make sure she is also.  Keeping each others needs at the forefront will help keep either of you from feeling taken for granted – so please make sure she’s fed and happy. 🙂

I don’t think, Luis, you know just how proud I am of you.  I’ve seen you grow from a little kid, when you and I could barely look at each other without fighting, to an adult that is establishing the foundation for a new family and a new future.  I don’t think you know how lucky I feel, as your older sister, to see that we’ve grown to a point in our relationship as siblings that is built on mutual respect, love and trust.

Things happen (waterfalls in houses come to mind) but how I’ve seen you two grow in your relationship leaves me nothing but excitement in seeing how the future will unroll for you. The best part of it all?  You work together as a team. Like I wrote before, time absolutely flies and it’s too short too live stressing out about the small stuff. Work hard, play hard. Have fun. Travel. When the time comes, I’ll take care of kiddos! (hint-hint)

Also, thank you for the gift of choosing such a special girl to become my [new] little sister. Maria – you are strong, you are kind-hearted and you have a heart of gold. I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for you two as time progresses and I want you both to know that I will always be the older sister that’s in your corner and on your team – remember that (even if it inevitably comes with a rolled eye and a joke or two!)

Love you both – can’t wait to see you this week!