The Joy Up - When I Grow Up

The Joy Up - When I Grow Up This post is part of The Joy Up Stories Series. The Joy Up begins August 1st with hundreds of women who are ready to claim their joy and deepen love, ritual, trust and rhythm. Join us by clicking  here My brother got married on Sunday. Im writing this post before the big day, but I already know how it went, how I felt, and what happened. It went amazeballs. I felt emotional, happy, sweet, nostalgic, and full of wonder. I got to witness my brother marrying a woman I have zero doubt that he loves, honors and respects. Jen compliments him, and theyre such a great team. You know when someone meets someone and they just change, in a way that leads them to be more open, more authentic, more comfortable in their own skin? Thats whats happened to my brother. I think back to the relationship I had with my brother when we were really little. It looked something like this: I was The Goody Two Shoes. The Teachers Pet. The A Student. The Performer. My brother was The Street Smart-er. The Tantrum Thrower. The Sports Guy. We had nothing in common. Id drive him to high school when I was a senior and he was a freshman, and if we spoke for 30 seconds it was a lot. He was Howard Stern, the Mets and Phish. I was Bernadette Peters, Rent and Sarah McLachlan. When I went to college, I became a bit cooler in his eyes, and we got a little closer. But even though we loved each other, we simply, umjust had nothing to talk about. Wed see each other at family events and would call each other sporadically, but our relationship wasnt much more than a superficial one. Things shifted when I got  my boob cancer diagnosis. My brother, who was a bit of a stranger at this point, turned into one of my best friends. He picked up the phone and called or texted every day. Every. Day. Im emotional just thinking about it. To check up on me like that, to see how I was feeling, to make sure he was in the loop on the latest test reports or doctors visitsit meant everything to me. It opened a door to a brother-sister friendship that I didnt think I would ever really have. Were able to talk now about our relationships, about jobs, about our family, about what were going through and what were challenged by. We still couldnt be more different, with his life in the suburbs and mine in the city. With his traditional job and my non-traditional one. But now, we look like this: The conversation flows. The phone rings often. The double dates get scheduled. And I couldnt be more Joy-full. Whats bringing you Joy recently? What comes to mind when you think of Joy? Share em in the comments, and dont forget to visit  the lovely Hannahs Joy Up page  to bring some joy to the end of your summer!