Brothers

My Piper shared this email with me that she had written to herself.  I thought it was precious.

Your brother is a great guy. As a girl, I hear a lot of mean talk

about boys, mainly, brothers. I used to agree, or at least pretend to,
but my brother has shown otherwise. Among many things, brothers can
help with self-confidence, having fun, and learning how to disagree
respectively. Brothers, blood or otherwise, are essential.

One, self-confidence. My family likes to invite missionaries to
dinner, and I have noticed that the boys are much more fun than the
girls. Why? Because the girls were almost always acting
self-conscience.  I have noticed that it tends to be the same with
other girls and boys. My brother has helped me deal with this by
talking to me about why he doesn't care and showing me confidence.
That way I can have more fun.

Two, having fun. Our house is really noisy because everyone is always
laughing and yelling, because of my brother. He chases us around and
eases tension with jokes. Boys can be kind of rowdy sometimes, and
that is good. He shows me when it is appropriate to be calm and when
it is time to be crazy. Though sometimes I disagree.

Three, disagreeing respectfully. My brother often tells me when I am
doing something wrong in his opinion, but he leaves it at that.
Brothers almost always have different opinions, but, maybe because
they know they can tackle you, they can be very respectful about it.
And respect is one of the essential things in life.

Boys, brothers in particular, are important when it comes to living
life; they can teach you how to be confident, have fun, and be
respectful. Unfortunately, many girls don't have brothers or treat
their brothers like trash. You need to love and show your love to your
brother if you want all this from him. He can't talk through a shield.
Treat your brother like the man he is.