I remember the first time I met Max. I was standing in my parent’s kitchen 7 years ago and saw my sister Carla walking up the hill of our backyard with a guy in khakis and a button-down shirt. Business casual was not common for high school boys in our town… When I asked my mom who he was, she said, “That’s Max. They met at 4-H. Apparently, he goes to Catholic school.” Little did I know, the guy Carla walked up the hill with that day would quickly go from “Max, the quiet guy who goes to Catholic school” to “Max, my brother.” 

It took a bit to warm him up. According to Max, Carla and I “talk without breathing” and “read each other’s minds.” Apparently, that makes it hard to cut into the conversation 🙂 But he’s come out of his shell (especially when playing card games) and become part of the family in a way that it feels incomplete if he’s not at a family gathering or on a trip with us.

Carla and Max have grown up, and I think truly grown better, together. A lot of life changes happen between ages 15 and 22 (high school ups and downs, going to different colleges, study abroad semesters, finding jobs, and now beginning their careers) and they’ve loved and supported each other through each one. It was so much fun taking anniversary photos of them at the Lincoln Memorial- dodging tourists, strategically positioning myself to make it look like they were the only two there, racing against the setting sun. Of course, Carla and Max were game for all of it, even the last second position switches where they were running down the corridor of columns to a better spot before tourists crowded in. 

Carla and Max, I love you. I am so fortunate to witness the way you love each other and the life you are creating together.