Ever since I can remember I looked up to my brother. I followed him around all the time, even as we got older (and I'm sure he got more annoyed by it). I just loved being near him. If he had friends over to play video games I'd sit quietly and watch them play for hours, and the same went for when his friends were playing street hockey or basketball on our driveway. No matter what he did I just wanted to be there.
When I was only a year old- he would've been four - we would play Batman and Robin. Of course he always got to be Batman, and I'm sure that bugged me when I was little. But I do remember loving the idea of being his sidekick. We used towels as capes and used big clips to hold them in place and then we would run. Back and forth down the hallway, usually me tailing behind him and one of us singing the theme song to Batman.
As I began starting this post I found an old video of us running down the hallway of our old house. Unfortunately, the best I could do was screen shot so the quality is bad, but it still shows our lovely capes and me trailing behind. So young, joyous, and carefree.
The notorious Batman and Robin- taking on the world together. If one got into trouble the other was there to help them out. It was the same for us, as I'm sure it is for many siblings. And even though a lot of the time I got him into trouble (by tattling), I usually owned up or defended him after to try and get him back out of trouble. As we got older he was always there for me whenever I needed it, and I still idolized him and wanted to do everything the same way he did. That whole superhero/sidekick culture was instilled in us early and is still with me now. Even though Derek is gone he's still my hero, and I am still the sidekick. In the shadows - but in a good way - in that he shone so brightly it's hard to compare.
A quote from my eulogy for him:
"I’d want you to know that I loved you with all of my heart. You were more than just a brother to me; you were also my best friend and my idol. I looked up to you in absolutely everything you did. You were the best person I ever knew, and no matter what happened between us I always knew we would stay close.
You were my boy from the day I was born. I adored you. I followed you around, I mimicked your every action, I was your sidekick without question, I was always protective of you, and I always will be. I am your little sister and I always knew you had my back; I always had yours as well."
When I was only a year old- he would've been four - we would play Batman and Robin. Of course he always got to be Batman, and I'm sure that bugged me when I was little. But I do remember loving the idea of being his sidekick. We used towels as capes and used big clips to hold them in place and then we would run. Back and forth down the hallway, usually me tailing behind him and one of us singing the theme song to Batman.
As I began starting this post I found an old video of us running down the hallway of our old house. Unfortunately, the best I could do was screen shot so the quality is bad, but it still shows our lovely capes and me trailing behind. So young, joyous, and carefree.
The notorious Batman and Robin- taking on the world together. If one got into trouble the other was there to help them out. It was the same for us, as I'm sure it is for many siblings. And even though a lot of the time I got him into trouble (by tattling), I usually owned up or defended him after to try and get him back out of trouble. As we got older he was always there for me whenever I needed it, and I still idolized him and wanted to do everything the same way he did. That whole superhero/sidekick culture was instilled in us early and is still with me now. Even though Derek is gone he's still my hero, and I am still the sidekick. In the shadows - but in a good way - in that he shone so brightly it's hard to compare.
A quote from my eulogy for him:
"I’d want you to know that I loved you with all of my heart. You were more than just a brother to me; you were also my best friend and my idol. I looked up to you in absolutely everything you did. You were the best person I ever knew, and no matter what happened between us I always knew we would stay close.
You were my boy from the day I was born. I adored you. I followed you around, I mimicked your every action, I was your sidekick without question, I was always protective of you, and I always will be. I am your little sister and I always knew you had my back; I always had yours as well."