You don’t know how much you love someone until they are gone.

I miss my brother.

It’s been two days since my brother wed the beautiful love of his life. It was an incredible day. All of the typical wedding things worked out perfectly, the weather turned out to be extraordinary and everyone was more than happy for the newlyweds. My sister-in-law looked absolutely incredible and I have never seen my brother happier.

We’ve been through a lot - a lot of fun times as kids, arguments as siblings and growth as brothers. We have shared in countless moments of laughter, several moments of anger and now one moment of pure, honest, God given joy. To be honest, my brother has been my best friend. We haven’t lived close to one another for sometime now but the distance has made us closer and the conversations we have had with each other and the life we have shared have made me realize that no matter where he is or how far apart we get he will always be my big brother. He is always there to look out for me, to cheer me on, to be mad for me and to correct me when I am wrong. He is always there to be my friend, to laugh with me, to watch bad movies with me and to endure stress with me.

I am happy. I am happy that he has found someone that loves him more than anything or anyone else in the world. I am happy that he is filled with more joy than he has ever been filled with. I am happy that right now that are enjoying the Windy City and will soon be soaking up the sun in Mexico. I am very, very happy.

I will never forget the moment when my sister-in-law walked down the aisle toward my big brother. They had seen each other already that day so all of the fear and anxiety was gone. The only thing they were feeling was love and excitement. As his eyes turned red and filled with tears and as she began to cry and choke back the tears herself I saw the most genuine expression of love I had ever seen before.

Like I said, I am happy. I cannot wait to see them and talk with them about their wedding and honeymoon. I am excited and I love them both very much.