Little-Brother-In-Law

I don't know what I did to get such a cool Little-Brother-In-Law.

Well, I do know what I did. I married his sister. That's not what I mean though.

He has been the bonus to my marriage that I hadn't really counted on.

There are plenty of crazy, mixed-up teenagers to keep American parents crazy and mixed-up themselves, but I couldn't have designed one easier to tolerate than him.

He loves my kids. He tolerates them, torments them, and tutors them. And to this point, he still hasn't made it his mission to mess them up for me.

In years past, I had to keep on my toes. Like a young tiger at the zoo, his joy was to make me yelp in pain. He would wrestle me until I fought back, then keep wrestling until I climbed exhausted from the pool. We had a great wrestlationship.

I'm glad he's outgrown that stage. Not because I didn't like it. I did. I'm glad it's over because he's almost as big as me and just as strong. My weight would be the only advantage I have left.

With the few years of adolescence he has left, I hope he still looks to me as a resource to help him grow into the honorable man he wants to be.