Happy birthday to my brother A!

My eldest brother A is (like me) an academic (although a more traditional one since he is a tenure-track professor at an American university). We left (him and his family to the US, me to Canada) on the same year, to undertake graduate studies at the same time (he was starting his PhD and I was doing my MBA/MEng). My brother A (the oldest of 5 boys) has always been a role model to me.

While growing up, it was up to him to take care of all of his brothers. To this day, even after being married for over 20 years and having three daughters, he still makes the time to check in with us, his younger brothers, and look after us. Whenever I’ve been in difficult situations (including financial) he’s always been there to offer his help, even if that means making additional sacrifices of his own.

I wish I was half as talented as my brother A, and as hard working as he is. My brother is (and I’m not ashamed to admit it), one of the world’s foremost experts in thermal sciences and an incredibly talented scholar. But make no mistake – my brother is also an incredibly generous human being, with an incredible capacity to love.

Recounting the many reasons why I love my brother A would take a long, long time, but the one thing I would like to say, just as a reminder, is that you’re my role model. When I grow up, I want to be like you. I would want you to be as proud of me as I am of you. Because you (and your daughters and your wife, my sister-in-law), mean the world to me. A, you are the epitome of success and you deserve every good thing that comes your way, because you have worked damn hard to achieve what you’ve accomplished.

I’m pretty sure you’ll be working late this week, on your research, your teaching and taking care of your family as well, but I do hope that you can take a few moments to yourself to enjoy a milestone. You are on this planet one more year and I, for one, am very grateful you are. Remember I love you profoundly.

Your brother,
Rolex

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