I am lucky enough to have four brothers, three of whom I hope to be able to hang out with for many years to come. The youngest, Mark, passed away two and a half years ago. I hope I get to hang out with him again someday, in a land far away.

Peter is the second youngest, but is a bit of an anomaly in that he was kind of also the baby of our family. Though Mark was the true youngest, he had a severe form of spastic quadriplegia, rendering him unable to speak or walk, so Peter naturally assumed the role of family comedian and mama’s boy, in a completely non-insulting sort of way. Peter, who I fondly call Petrovski, was the only one of the six of us to be born with mom’s colouring: brown hair and brown eyes. The rest of us were born blonde with blue eyes.

Little bro grew up to be taller and bigger than the rest of his brothers – strange how that happens! He also developed a healthy ability to charm pretty much anyone. That charm makes him great company. Or possibly it’s because he has good taste in music, and great fashion sense, and likes to shop that makes him good company.

Either way, I’m lucky to have him as a little brother, and today, I want to wish him a very happy 23rd birthday!

Here is Peter, with his friend Jess and his fantastic style: