I love spending time with my little brother.

I guess my little brother really isn't all that little anymore. He's taller than me, probably smarter than I am, and has been able to take me in a tickle fight for about ten years now. But he's still my baby brother.

Michael's been talking about coming to visit since I moved to Washington, but because he's stationed on a Navy sub, that's easier said than done. He finally had a weekend off, and then I got sick. So he came down anyway. A nine-and-a-half-hour drive to spend two days with a mucussy, coughy mess of a sister--now that is love.

I haven't been the life of the party this weekend (in fact, he's downtown with friends right now, and I came home to sleep), but it's been nice to spend time with him. We talked late into the night after he got here, and then we went out to brunch and talked some more. We went and saw a movie, and then he hung out at my place while I took a nap. That was followed by more talking and dinner.

So here's to spending time with family. Though we may live far away from each other and have become very different people with different goals and ideals, we have a common bond that cannot fade with time or distance or experience. Call me sentimental, but that's what family really is.

P.S. We are finally getting nice weather again. The snow is all gone and the sun is shining.