I keep on my desk the picture of you and me dressed as if we're to be married. It has made me happy for years. It reminds me that you were my first best friend and likely my best playmate for years. I'm also keenly aware that you were nearly as tall as I was at the ripe old age of three. I was five. I'm pretty certain you passed me in height about six months later and thereafter always would be viewed as my older brother by any passing stranger—an assertion I batted down if anyone dared to voice it.

Your heart was always bigger than mine. I knew it early on and it made me want to be more like you in that regard. My heart was more critical and judgmental. I never, ever saw that in you growing up. You were always generous from your core.