Happy Birthday Baby Brother

Today my baby brother would have been 29 years old. Its hard to fathom he's been gone 8 1/2 years. My brother was beyond a shadow of a doubt the life of every party! He was an endless ray of sunshine with a goofy lopsided grin, and great laugh. He brought joy and happiness with him where-ever he went! Derek was a lover of life. You know the type. Enjoying every minute to its full capacity. To spend a day with Derek was to come to love the boy! I don't know that ever there was, or if there ever will be another human being that was as much fun as Derek. To say he was a thrill seeking adrenaline junkie doesn't quite say it right.

Derek has a little girl. JoAn Renee. She wasn't quite 3 years old when he died. Oh, Lord...He loved her so much. I don't think you've ever seen a face light up the way that little girl's did when she laid eyes on her Daddy! She was such a cutie pie baby, and has turned into a beautiful little girl. She is full of piss and vinegar just like her Daddy! Derek would be so proud of the bright, cheerful, beauty she has become. She misses him so.

Derek was the baby in our family, and to say that we all 'babied' him....well talk about understatements! That boy was just plum spoiled. He could smile his way into just about anything. And, God Forbid, he call me Lala.....for if he did I would, and did do whatever he requested. I remember visiting my Mom's house on a Friday night after I married Willie. Derek was getting ready to go on a date, and was naturally running late...he asked me to iron his red shirt. I gave him the spill about being a grown up and and ironing his own dang shirt. I came to visit Mom and Dad not iron his shirt! He looked at me with those big blue eyes, and said 'please Lala'.......and you guessed it...I ironed that damn shirt. Just in time for him to throw it on as his buddy Tim walked into the house.

I said that right...as Tim WALKED into the house. Derek's buddies were all family to us. They called me Big Sister, and my parents Mom and Dad. So, for one of them to just walk in, and grab a bite of whatever was on the stove was nothing out of the ordinary. Derek tucked in his red shirt still warm from the ironing, and thanked me with a quick kiss on the cheek and off he went!

Happy Birthday Baby Brother....I love you, and miss you more every moment that passes!