{Tommy}

Today is my little brother Tommy’s 18th birthday!! To my brother, his birthday is a huge deal and he talks about it throughout the year. My mother told me on Monday morning she woke up at 5:30 to find Tommy downstairs dancing around the living room to his beloved Grease soundtrack. When she asked him what he was doing, he replied, “It’s my birthday week!”

We have a pretty normal sibling relationship, I call him my “Cutie Pie.” But Tommy is not your average baby brother. He was born three months premature and weighed only one lb. at birth. He stayed in the hospital until Christmas when we could take him home and even then, he was hooked up on machines.

Tommy falls on the autism spectrum but he’s definitely come out of his shell. He used to never talk  but now he’s a regular Chatty Cathy and boy can he flirt…Tommy prefers blondes!

Plus, he’s a rather dapper dresser and rocks the sweater vest.

A part of his syndrome is rapid weight gain, he cannot tell when he’s full so my parents have to strictly monitor his meals and our kitchen. It always bothers me when people act like my family just lets him eat. My family eats a lot of vegetables and he and my dad play in our yard and go for walks regularly. It’s just a part of his syndrome that he is bigger.

Tommy loves Elmo, he comes with us on family outings!

I am so incredibly lucky to be Tommy’s sister because he has taught me patience and true unconditional love. Sure, he can get on my nerves sometimes (like when I go home and he takes over my laptop, seriously he won’t let me even touch it!) but I could not imagine having a better brother. I love when he comes to the phone, his excitement is so contagious!

One of my favorite Tommy moments was when my parents came to help me move the summer between my sophomore and junior years. I gave Tommy my laptop to entertain himself while my parents and I moved my boxes. A couple of weeks later, I opened up Photobooth to see Tommy had discovered Photobooth and promptly photographed himself at least 60 times with various backgrounds and special effects. He is one smart cookie!

The biggest lesson I’ve learned from Tommy:

It doesn’t matter what other people think about you, just keep smiling.

Happy birthday, Cutie Pie!!!!