On April 23, 1988, my life got twice as good. I probably wasn't aware of it back then, but thing have become more and more clear as time goes by. My younger brother is the World's Best Brother!
My first and only sibling was supposed to arrive at the same time as the crocus that me and mum had planted when the baby was still baking inside the tummy. It was a great plan by my mother, with the exception that the flowers popped out way earlier than my brother, so in my view Filip was late. Turns out Filip was and still is a very relaxed person that likes to take his time.
I don't remember much of my brother as a baby, but once he learned how to move around a little and then later communicate it was starting to become fun. I took him out for walks on a leach (if you don't get a puppy you have to make due with what's available), introduced my dolls and stuffed animals to his action figures and stuffed animals, taught him how to make huts out of blankets and furniture as well as showed him how to bake chocolate balls. All of life's essentials.
In direct contrast to myself, Filip went straight from crawling to running. He was never ever ever still as a kid, and one of the most frequent phrases used was "Diddi also come along!" Diddi was Filip's own pronunciation of Filip, and it has sticked as a nick name. Turns out diddi actually means younger brother in Chinese, so in a way he was really ahead of his time. Filip also goes by the name of Filten, Filé, Fille, Janson, Pläden, Koalan and more.
Here in Asia, the most impressive thing about Filip is not his excellent poker skills ("owning" luck is serious shit in this part of the world) or his gastronomic interest (what Singaporean does not connect with another foodie?). Standing tall at just under 2 meters, he is about one head taller than me and I often get the question, "Wow, he's really tall, huh. How?" I'm not entirely sure if this is just a way to appreciate and give a compliment or if there is an honest question hidden in there, where the urge to be at least over 160cm takes over reason and when finding someone tall, you just have to ask - how did it happen.
Happy birthday Filip! Wish you were here and hope I get to see you soon!
My first and only sibling was supposed to arrive at the same time as the crocus that me and mum had planted when the baby was still baking inside the tummy. It was a great plan by my mother, with the exception that the flowers popped out way earlier than my brother, so in my view Filip was late. Turns out Filip was and still is a very relaxed person that likes to take his time.
I don't remember much of my brother as a baby, but once he learned how to move around a little and then later communicate it was starting to become fun. I took him out for walks on a leach (if you don't get a puppy you have to make due with what's available), introduced my dolls and stuffed animals to his action figures and stuffed animals, taught him how to make huts out of blankets and furniture as well as showed him how to bake chocolate balls. All of life's essentials.
In direct contrast to myself, Filip went straight from crawling to running. He was never ever ever still as a kid, and one of the most frequent phrases used was "Diddi also come along!" Diddi was Filip's own pronunciation of Filip, and it has sticked as a nick name. Turns out diddi actually means younger brother in Chinese, so in a way he was really ahead of his time. Filip also goes by the name of Filten, Filé, Fille, Janson, Pläden, Koalan and more.Here in Asia, the most impressive thing about Filip is not his excellent poker skills ("owning" luck is serious shit in this part of the world) or his gastronomic interest (what Singaporean does not connect with another foodie?). Standing tall at just under 2 meters, he is about one head taller than me and I often get the question, "Wow, he's really tall, huh. How?" I'm not entirely sure if this is just a way to appreciate and give a compliment or if there is an honest question hidden in there, where the urge to be at least over 160cm takes over reason and when finding someone tall, you just have to ask - how did it happen.
Happy birthday Filip! Wish you were here and hope I get to see you soon!
Lovely! Happy Birthday to the Haffi-brother I've never met and lucky you and me, having brothers!! That is awesome!
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