Family first + firsts.

This is a shout out to my lil bro - E. I met him long before I fathomed he would become my brother-in-law, though I like to think (and maybe did think) I knew he would immediately. When I recalled meeting him later that day/week to my sister it went like this, "I met a guy you need to date. Like now." The next year was pretty much filled with chance - or "arranged" - meetings and more convincing. Then it happened. They met, dated, fell in love, married and I have a brother - a family first.

You see, having a sister is without a doubt the greatest gift my parents ever gave me. Having a brother (via marriage) is one of the greatest gifts my sister gave me. I like to think it's mainly because it's E and he's pretty much fantastic. Eschewing the typical "sister/brother-in-law" relationship, E and I are family, and friends. We look out for each other, check in on each other, update each other and share with each other. On top of all of that, E makes these playlists called "Big Sis" and then he numbers or dates them. When I visited my favorite two in Boston last weekend, I, of course, left with a playlist of amazing new tunes courtesy of lil bro. (It is necessary to note that playlist has pretty much been ALL I've listened to since my trip.) I caught a glimpse of his library, full of playlists and saw the several dedicated to just me. Family first, that's E. And that's me.

From my latest Big Sis list: "Mallory" by Tigercity, "I Feel Better" by Hot Chip, "Something, Somewhere, Sometime" by Ben Solle.