To Jerry:

In honor of 37 years, I wanted to share with the world reasons why you are loved by me. I couldn't have picked a better friend to grow up with or a family member to love. Sorry I can't be there to fight over who gets to blow out the candles first!

1. He’s been there from the start.
2. He proudly serves jury duty without complaint.
   
3. He tolerates my over-bearing, older sister mood-swings with little more than a shrug of a shoulder.
4. He hasn’t decked me so far for reminding him that I’m 11 minutes older
5. Or that I practically saved his life pushing my way out of mom first
6. When he loves something, he loves it with his whole heart.
1. Spiderman
2. Batman
3. Star Wars
4. The Bears
5. His family
7. He’s good at math.
8. He drives a cute car. (Oh, okay – it’s not cute – it’s a Caliber)
9. He can typically walk me through fixing my computer over the phone. (Must be why he’s been an IT genius for over 20 years.)
10. He’s a traditionalist. Christmas, the toy box, coloring easter eggs
11. He gives me a run for my money in remembering every Christmas Carol we ever learned in Sunday School.
12. He gave up his first Mac Plus so I could have a computer at my new apartment.
13. He loves kids. Probably because he’s a big one himself. At family parties, he’s the one on the floor rolling around with the munchkins.
14. He knows what he likes and orders it without mayo.
15. He collects action figures, comics, electronics, assorted other things, making it easy to shop for him at Christmas and our birthday
    
16. He steps up to help mom and dad when they need his support and Pete and I are a zillion miles away.
17. He has always been a fair Intellivision/Nintendo/PlayStation 2 competitor and he understands that Karate Champ, Donkey Kong Country, SSX Tricky are more my speed than Grand Theft Auto.
18. He will tolerate going to chick flicks over the holidays.
19. He encourages my adventurous side, and yet can find a local bus to wing us back to safety when necessary.
20. He will ride the front car on roller coasters with me.
21. He will slow down his stride when walking with me even though at almost a foot taller than me, he could be walking a whole lot faster.
22. He didn’t make me buy him Belgium Waffles in Belgium or French Toast in France when we made it past our 30^th Birthday and still remained single.
23. He likes Calvin & Hobbes, Fox Trot, and Linus from the Peanuts gang.
24. He’s going back to school to finish his degree not because he has to but because he wants to.
25. He would gladly loan me his last dollar if I asked nicely.
26. He knows the secret password and allowed a girl in the club.
    
27. He tolerates my bad driving habits and has a few of his own – particularly on snowy roads with narrow ditches near Kirchoff Road..
28. He has eaten a lot of “quality beef” – particularly on a family trip through Michigan where he only ordered cheeseburgers
29. He shared strawberry custard birthday cakes from Jarosch Bakery, even though I’m sure his preference might have been to have marzipan.
30. Board Games or ping pong anyone? He’s the only one who might take me up on the offer.
31. I trust him with my secrets and know he won’t tell a soul.
32. We don’t have to say a word and a lot of times I’ll know what he’s thinking even miles away. (Like right now, he's probably wishing I would just get this over with and stop my tendency to brown nose things a bit.)
    
33. He’s an eagle scout – always handy in a MacGyver sort of way.
34. He does spot on accent impressions, which can only be dangerous at Waffle Houses in Southern Alabama.
35. He has an uncanny ability to quote movies from eons ago.
36. He has helped me move from several apartments without MANY complaints
37. It’s easy to love him. No expectations. Done. Period.

Love YOU! 'lil sis