no other way to say it

i've been meaning to mention it for a week or so, and i haven't come up with a better way of putting it, so i may as well stop procrastinating:

my brother's one heck of a good guy.

i didn't like him much when i was 8, or 13. and i probably didn't care for him much when i was 10. but now, he's quite the guy.

i think people fall into the habit of regarding people in terms of "he should"s and "she oughtta"s. i think we tend to look at the obvious shortcomings of others through the lens of our own lives and come up with Brilliant Plans That Clearly Will Work for "improving" other people. i used to think such things as "he should get a new job" or "he ought to move" about my brother, but i realized this weekend that he's really quite good the way he is, and whatever i think he should do (actually, *especially* if i think it -- what do i know, after all?) is really irrelevant, he's getting along very well by his own.

so, here's (where's?) to my brother, who in many ways manages to do better than my own best efforts, who makes me proud when i see how well he's getting on, and when i see how he brings happiness to those around him.