The Third Wheel

I've been nagging my little brother to come and visit us here in London since the day I arrived here myself.

Other than travelling with our parents to California when we were younger, he has never really travelled outside of Australia. His interests didn't lie with travelling; they were with fixing up cars and spending money on the latest gadgets. We were offering him free accommodation in one of the most notoriously expensive cities in the world, and he didn't want to save for the flight to come and visit? He's crazy! I couldn't understand it. After a while, I gave up asking him about coming; he'd turned me down so many times, I knew he wasn't interested.

My little brother is actually not so little. In fact, he's considerably taller than me and possesses a metabolism that I covet, which enables him to stuff himself full of food and never gain a pound. Ridiculously unfair.

I wasn't always such a great big sister. Or maybe I was trying to be, but I didn't really know how to be one. And let's face it, he was an annoying little brat growing up - always irritating me, knowing all the right buttons to push to send me over the edge. I can't even begin to tell you how many times he managed to start something, see me snap in a spectacular fashion, and then sit back grinning while I copped all the flack from my parents. Brothers, I tell you.

He had his share of girlfriends as a young'un. And being the big sister, I judged them all and deemed them not worthy. If you know me at all, you'll know that I can pull off a pretty incredibly stern face. These girls, they were just babies. I'll admit it, I never want out of my way to be nice to them. Why would I? They weren't going to last. They weren't right for my brother, and I wasn't going to waste any time on them.

Until he met this girl. She was gorgeous - the kind of girl who cannot take a bad picture. She's sweet. She's funny. They're a perfect match. I love how she changed my little brother, and they give me the warm fuzzies.

The cuteness, it blinds me. Also, I wish J & I could get some sweet shots like that! These two make it look effortless.

Fast forward a few years, and I randomly get am email from my brother - telling me he's going to be here in September. Say, what? They are coming to London! A few phone calls, frantic text messages and late night emails later, and I found out the details: the pair were going to be in London for a week, followed by a week frolicking around Italy together before he heads back to Australia for work, and H heads to Europe with her girlfriends.

I am so, so excited for them to be here. They'll get to see our cosy little apartment and they'll get to see the city we've called home for the past three years.They'll get to travel internationally together for the first time. When they were planning, they mentioned wanting to visit Disneyland Paris, and having been there a few times (hi, I'm obsessed!) I began throwing a million ideas their way to help them with their planning.

Then something awesome happened; they invited us to go with them! Unfortunately Jase is working so isn't available, but I jumped at the chance to visit one more time - so from this Monday to Wednesday, I'll be off in France with my sibling and relishing being a third wheel. Paris, je t'aime! It's one of my favourite cities.

But aside from all of that, we do have one more ulterior motive to be so excited about their visit. My brother doesn't know it yet, but Jason is planning on asking him to be a groomsman on our wedding day. It would be awesome to have him involved, I can't wait to see his expression. I hope he'll be as excited about it as we are!

Did you, or are you planning to involve your siblings in your bridal party?