If any of you are regular readers of my blog, then you know that I have “Frousins” who are my cousins but also among my closest of friends. The term Frousin was coined by the brilliant and handsome AK. It perfectly describes our relationship – we are related, there is no doubt about that if you saw our mothers when they are afraid of being late, but we also laugh together, travel together and just enjoy hanging out, much like a good friend. I’ve stopped doing birthday blogs, mostly because, I felt like as nice as they were, if you didn’t know the people, it was a great big in-joke that you, my readers couldn’t be part of. I decided to make an exception for AK since it’s a special birthday and he is so special to me. In honour of your big celebration and inspired by this photo, here are 40 things that I love about AK:
- You have a lovely sister (GK) who we are so happy to have in Toronto. If you are our brother from another mother, she is our sister from another mister
- Your parents are fabulous! And I love how they spoil you
- You introduced us to AB who not only has great taste in balloons, but is one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met
- You are named after my wonderful grandfather – that makes you the “King” in our family
- OK-OK, I know – it’s all about you!
- When I saw how your students reacted to you, and how much they loved you, it warmed my little heart. You care about people and it’s such a rarity these days
- You also know how to say it like it is, and that always cracks me up
- Speaking of cracking up – the expression that you get when you are surprised by something always makes me laugh
- You play along with my annoying rating games and “would you rather” scenarios
- You know a good bottle of wine when you see it – hooray Oyster Bay
- You know how to shop and are a deal finder
- You are a snazzy dresser who know how to mix high and low
- You won best dressed teacher – and campaigned for it
- You take care of yourself (pedicures anyone?)
- You are smart! Who else would know what and where Azerbaijan is!
- You do the same laugh until you cry thing that I do so I feel less alone in the world
- You are a bit klutzy which also helps me feel less alone in the world – because I’m a lot klutzy
- You are patient. Who else could teach me to shoot a bow and arrow?
- You are logical – your best tip for teaching me how to shoot the bow and arrow? “Um…you have to actually aim it at the target”. I got so much better after that!
- You understand that camping now if staying at the Holiday Inn
- You love your sister’s bird and animals in general. You’ve even started taking care of him!
- You discover new places and share them
- You are a great travel mate!
- Even more important, you like to travel – that can sometimes be two different things. If you like to travel, it means that you have a curiosity about the world
- You were brave enough to move to a foreign country for school
- You own up to getting hangry
- It’s always so funny to see how calm Starbucks makes you
- You always try to do the right thing
- You like to do cheesy things and make them fun
- You also like to do very civilized things like go to a VIP Cinema
- You understand how fabulous the “Golden Girls” are
- You like a good concert – in fact, you have great taste in music
- You have no issue taking one for the team
- You like being treated in a first class manner but you do not have a first class attitude
- You get through what life throws at you with a sense of humour
- You don’t expect anything – in fact, you should ask for help more
- You know how to brighten someone’s day
- You let people have their moments and enjoy it when they do
- You are generous to a fault
- When people are going through a difficult time, you are there. 2015 wasn’t kind to my family. You didn’t ask what you could do – you just showed up and I’ll never forget that!
Have a wonderful birthday and a happy, healthy year. I can’t wait to celebrate with you!