Outside Looking In...

One of the greatest feelings which I've felt in life was standing next to my little brother on his wedding day. As his bride entered the garden and he saw her for the first time, he reached over to me and grabbed my hand as though we were kids all over again; of course I quickly withdrew my hand from his and said, "Man up, don't be a wimp" or at least something along those lines. The truth is he was happy, he had found his forever partner and he was overcome with emotion, it was amazing to bear witness to the raw emotions of that moment.

The other greatest moment was when he and his wife informed me that they were pregnant. You see, I'm the sibling who flies by the seat of his pants and seeks to learn about people, culture, food, fashion, and landscapes whether that be in Machu Picchu or Cairo, Tulum or Vienna, I've chosen travel/adventure over the family route (2.5 kids, minivan, and picket fence). The idea of my brother and sister in law having a child wasn't a shock as much as it was a moment to celebrate, I mean I was set to become an uncle (insert shocked emoji face). Not only was my nephew born healthy and with all of his fingers and toes, he was born into a family which was ready for him to arrive; however, instead of waiting oh I don't know, five years or so to have their second child, I get the call a year later, "Looks like we're going back to back". Sheesh, I'm not done with this guy and you're going to bring another kid into the mix!

Fast forward four years and we're dealing with a soon to be four year old and his ever so sassy two and a half year old sister. At this stage in life, I would say that I've easily been around thousands of kids and I've had the chance to see the development of some of them from birth into their teenage years and beyond, nonetheless, these two nuggets which share the same bloodline as me, take the cake in so many ways.

I'm still perplexed as to where kids get some of the things they do, like, look here little humans, you need to chill before I ask you to chip in on rent and utilities. My brother's kids are two of the craftiest and cutest kids on the block and maybe I'm being biased but the sky is the limit for both of these tikes; yeah, yeah, yeah, even during meltdowns for no foreseen reason they're still crying forward.

My brother is blessed to have married a woman who is loving, patient, and kind, I have zero idea how she puts up with my brother and the kids, that seems like an extra line which should have been added after "For better or for worse", of course I kind of kid. I am forever telling my brother that he hit the lottery with the family which he has been blessed with.

The level of love and care which my sister in law shows towards those two little ones, my parents, and the other siblings makes me think that my brother wasn't crying at the top top of the stairs because he was nervous, he was crying because he knew he had found the one.

Sometimes we're allowed to see things at a different angle once we take a step back, lower our view, hold our breath, set the correct composition, and press the shutter release button.

The image returned is always from the outside lookin' in and I'm grateful my camera is capturing so many of these quiet moments which would otherwise go undocumented.