Happy Birthday Uncle Mike

Happy birthday to my brother, Mike! Mike is the 5th sibling in the Zobrist family, and he brought much excitement and craziness to our household when we were kids. He was always so full of energy, mischief, and life. He still has that little mischievous streak that comes with his "little boy" grin when he's up to trouble. Mike is the uncle who teases his nieces & nephews, and always has a baby in his lap. The kids love uncle Mike. I admire Mike's intelligence & practical know-how. Mike's like my dad - he just "knows how to do stuff."

When he was little, Mike went by his middle name, "Lorin", but somewhere in his teenage years, he decided that "Mike" (his first name is Michael) suited him better. I agree - he's definitely a "Mike"! When we didn't call him Lorin, he was "Curly" because of his head of soft, blonde curls, or "Gooey" because he would rub his food in his curls, making them nice & gooey.

I was 11 when Mike was born - the perfect age to fall in love with a little baby brother. For this reason, I have lots of memories of little Mike. In my 11-year-old brain, I felt so involved with the care-giving of the baby that I honestly thought Mike was, in a way, my baby. I remember helping my mom wallpaper his room before he was born, and I remember holding him & rocking him at dinner time so that my mom could cook dinner. Do you know how triumphant you feel when you're 11 and you take a fussy, crying new born baby & rock him to sleep? With Mike, I was able to experience that feeling! I also got introduced to the art of diaper changing, and frequently helped get Mike ready for bed. He & I had chicken pox together - & got the worst cases in the family. At the time, I was a mortified 12-year-old, & he was 1. When he was about Ben's age, we were building our house, & he was completely intrigued with the building process. He would walk around in his diaper, collecting nails, saying "nails" and putting nails in his diaper (which acted as a tool belt).

I am glad that I can live near my brother & his wife Karla, who is beautiful in every way so that I can see him fairly regularly. If there every is a family gathering and Mike is missing, it just isn't the same. Yep - there's no doubt about it, "I Like Mike!" Happy Birthday, brother!