The abridged UNAUTHORIZED biography of Peej according to his sister....(sneaky evil laugh...Bawhahahaha)

Since I've been a bit behind with my blog entries, I hesitated posting this. But, changed my mind after reading this post from my SIL detailing the fabulous birthday date she pulled off for my brother. So I feel completely justified in shamelessly exploiting the awesomeness of my oldest brother and letting the world celebrate his thirty-somethingish birthday by discovering the (sometimes evil) genius we so affectionately call 'Peej".

Our sibling tale begins as many often do; with the usual torture and misadventures that come from childhood...

I remember one morning while living in Pennsylvania, after a particular cruel breakfast served with the travaels of sibling rivilry, I retreated to my room only to find my bed completely covered in dirty diapers provided by my six month old brother. My room wreaked and I realized, I had been bested by Peej and his trusty sidekick (why couldn't I be the trusty sidekick?! Why, oh why?!). Stinky brothers filled with cooties: 1 sweet, innocent bystander sister: 0

One night, in the heat of anger at my two brothers, I remembered the words of my mother, "There is one place you never, never, NEVER kick a boy unless you are being carried away by a trench coat wearing, missing toothed man covered in gangly hair...(that's, of course, what I envisioned 'stranger danger' to be)" The admonition ran through my head and in a split-second decision I chose to exact my revenge. I enjoyed the momentary triumph, as my brother dropped to the floor and for a nano-second I was queen. It was brief, as nano-seconds are, because upon his recovery, I saw 'death' in my brothers eyes and knew I had to run for it or I was going to die! I ran as fast as I could to my room, followed by a spawn of something born out of rage. I hurled my body against my door with no lock and pushed against the force on the other side. The pounding eventually stopped and I carefully opened the door and discovered a fist sized hole in it. We lived in military housing and my parents lectured us on how we'd have to pay the government for a replacement, but eventually the house was condemned and torn down which also meant we wouldn't be required to replace a pane in a double paned-window. Woolston kids: 1 US Government: 0 Soccer kicking sister: 1 (squeeking by with her life).

We didn't always work against each other or atleast didn't after we realized the only way to survive our parents' wrath was working together to distract them from our follies. As was the case one night when our parents were out on a date. A fight broke out at the dinner table and I, once again, hit and ran. I threw a cup of water and hit Peej in the face. I ran for it when he grabbed a gallon sized pitcher and proceeded to chase me around the house. We ended up in what could have been a scene from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" with him holding the pitcher and me waiting for the next move. He threw. I ducked. The entire gallon of water splashed onto our parents' brand-new set of leather bound Encyclopedia Britannicas. We spent the rest of the night drying the books with a blow-dryer. One book never receovered. We just hoped Mom and Dad never had a need to open the J-S index. Peej: O Trish: .5 Enclyclopedia Britannica: $10 at a garage sale, 15 years later.

Even through all of this, I always felt proud to be his sister. I remember a time when life was a bit rough. Mom was sick and pregnant, Dad lost his job and we had to move out of the house we loved so much. We also had to move away from our freinds and school and into a two bedroom apartment. Every day when we got home, the new place was a reminder of the difficult situation we were in. Yet, most of what I remember from that time was the fun we had while playing in the yard and walking to school. Once as we were arriving, one of his friends asked, "Hey Peej! Whose that?" and his response was "This is my sister". He didn't even say it like he loathed me! I will never forget the automatic response of puffing out my chest out and walking a little taller. Yep! I was Peej's sister!

When we were teenagers, we played rounds and rounds of basketball in our driveway. He was generous and would start the game of '21' with me at 19 and counting each basket as two points (which meant I only needed 1 point) and him at zero, counting by 1. He ALWAYS won. Which doesn't say much about my ability to play baskeball.

Whenever I got in trouble I could deal with the lectures from my parents. In fact, most of the time, they just made me mad. But, if my brother ever said, "Trish, I'm really dissappointed in you." I was reduced to a puddle.

Once after a break-up with a boyfriend he didn't like anyway, he hugged me as I cried and didn't even get mad when I got mascara all over his shirt.



Then he met someone and everything changed. She was beautiful, talented and really the most perfectly ideal woman for him. Never before had I seen him in total love and devotion like this. My dignified, smooth as a cucumber brother was totally head over heels in love. I would hear stories about her and wish and pray that it would end well for both of them. It did.

When he decided to propose, he asked He-Man and I to set up the scene, make the dinner and pick up the ring!! I remember feeling a mixture of delight that I was the first person who beheld it and sheer terror that I would be hosed if anything happened between the jewler and her apartment.

It's impossible to express my love and admiration for my brother without including his wife. They are one of the most supportive, loving and generous couples I have ever known. They truly bring the best out of each other and handle all the pressures they face together with humor, joy and realistic expectations of each other.

As for their children, I rarely have seen kids who are completely mesmorized by their daddy (other than ours) the way they are. They hang on his every word as if they're saying, "Oh Daddy! I can't wait to hear what you're going to say next!"

He is a true and loyal friend. Deservedly, he has friends all over the world and is loved by so many. He's been hurt by people before who claimed to be his friend but perhaps didn't know how to be at the time. Yet he didn't dwell on it or let it navigate his life.

He's witty. Even as an adult, he's one-upped me a few times. Case in point, our beloved mug. The piece of ceramic that continues to be passed between the two of us. Everytime, the goal is to present it in the most surprising way possible. (I'm happy to report, I still am the reigning Mug Champ)

So, happy birthday, Peej. You have made the world a better place and we are all blessed to have you in our lives.


And now for your birthday present...

Behold! Mug's California Adventure!


Peej: 3

Trishelle: 529 (the last delivery gets atleast 520 points)

This is an authentic member of the San Diego P.D. It looks like Mug got to ride along on a stakeout!