Sherman, if you would?

This is my awesome brother in law Matt. He is deserving of a post, I should think. One of the landmarks of growing up and growing older is watching your siblings get married and move on in their life. I can only imagine what that will be like when my own children get married, but for me, having a sister 9 years younger, I always had a very maternal instinct towards both my sisters, but particularly the one Matt was lucky enough to marry.

"Giving her away" -- though not my right or responsibility -- was exciting and scary all at once. Especially considering how much love and protection I've always felt towards both sisters. I didn't know Matt very well when he married my sister. And really, if you knew my family, you can only imagine how frightening that endeavor might be. There's a lot of us. I'm not the only one with a strong personality. (You should meet my mom!) But I can think of NO ONE better than Matt for my sister. He is everything any sister could want in a brother in law. Not only is he an amazing father, an adoring husband, a smart and witty guy, admired and adored by all who are lucky enough to encounter him in either a personal or professional manner, but he gets me. He has gone out of his way to make long trips to visit us when he could have been doing something else. He's helped my friends with legal advice. He gets my sense of humor and isn't offended by it cuz he knows me. He knows my heart. And when we are together, we laugh. A lot. We have intelligent conversations. (At least I think so. He sinks to my level to make me feel smarter...and we share a common love of mindless computer games). He isn't threatened by my close relationship with his wife. We've had many a speaker phone conversation. He doesn't seem to mind that I think I'm their realtor or travel agent or Dr. Laura or Rush Limbaugh at times. He's thoughtful and calming. And despite the fact that between he and Rebecca it takes over an hour to make a decision about which movie to see or which public pool to visit, I still love him. I look up to him. Even more, I love them together. I consider myself lucky enough to call him family.

So Sherman, can you bring my good buddy Matt another Vanilla Italian soda please? Cuz it's his birthday. And he deserves that and so much more.

Happy Birthday Mattie! You're the best!