You're one of my favorite people.

This is going to sound strange because of where that quote comes from (Kill Bill, Vol. 2), but every time I hear this quote I think of my brother, Mike. It’s one of my favorite movie quotes of all time – which, yes, I realize is weird – because it comes at a point in the movie where it is absolutely the last thing you would expect the character to say. I had a dear friend say it to me once, in college, during a particularly rough patch in my life where I was lamenting the fact that maybe, after all, I was just a bad person.

He smiled, knowing how much I love this quote, and said simply ‘You’re not a bad person. You’re a very good person. You’re one of my favorite people.’

I can’t entirely explain why this quote makes me think of Mike except for the very obvious answer that he is just that – one of my favorite people. My brother has the best dry-wit, sarcastic sense of humor and can make just about anyone laugh. He is also one of the most honest and straightforward people you could hope to meet – which is a quality that I respect and strive to emulate. He loves animals in an almost unconditional way and has this ability to feel an instant bond with any that cross his path (which, in our family, is often).

He is also very excited about becoming Uncle Mike in the near future and I feel blessed that my baby will have Mike around to look after him. Since very early on in our search for the baby’s name, we knew what his middle name would be – Thomas, after his Uncle Mike and also my paternal grandfather.

So, all of that essentially just to say that I am thankful every day that I have Mike in my life. He has taught me lessons about perseverance and honesty, valuing myself even with my imperfections and the true meaning of what it is to love someone in that way that makes your insides hurt when they hurt and makes you hope so much for what they hope for that you think your heart will explode.

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For the past three years, I have tried to put all of that gratitude and all of those lessons into one day in honor of my brother – the Autism Center of Tulsa’s 5k Run. The race is now held in a park on the south side of Tulsa that has some pretty killer elevation changes (at least for an amateur like me) and when I find myself on the uphill side of one I try to remember all of the things that Mike has taught me…

That life is not always easy – but it is always worth it. That sometimes, even things you think should be simple can be very complicated. And that merely continuing to put one foot in front of the other is the most surefire way to get where you want to be.

I don’t even know that Mike would be able to tell you that he’s taught me any of that – in fact, I’m pretty sure he probably doesn’t realize at all the impact that he’s had on my life. I’ve never been very good at telling people things like that and I realize that I should, because who doesn’t want to know that they’ve impacted someone in a profound and personal way, just by being who they are? (I’m reminded here of some Wicked lyrics, but I’ll spare you.)

I would much rather try to SHOW people what they mean to me and my struggling through this 5k every year in my brother’s name is my attempt to say ‘By the way, I adore you, just so you know.’

Because I do.  I adore him.  He's absolutely one of my favorite people.