Bridalplasty
Because Joyce asked:
Hi everyone, Kim and Yousif have given me the privilege to start off all the speeches today, and I just wanted to take this time to first welcome all of you to the wedding reception.
Some of you have traveled pretty far (Libya, France, Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York) and I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to come out and celebrate this joyous occasion with the happy couple. Everyone sitting here today, in some major or minor way, has had some hand in bringing these two people to this moment in time, and just seeing how happy my sister and my new brother-in-law are, I just want to say how grateful I am for that. (choke up) To everybody.
As Kim’s little brother, I grew up with her around my entire life, and we used to do everything together. By which I mean, she would control the radio station on car rides to and from school... the TV remote once we got HOME from school (if laughter: I grew up watching Dawson’s Creek and Backstreet Boys music videos)... and she would get to decide which of the toys we won from Circus Circus were hers, as opposed to the uglier ones that I somehow always ended up playing with.
But I never cared. Kim grew up without any privacy because I wanted to spend so much time with her. Even in high school, she used to let me read over her shoulder while she chatted with her friends online. I felt like I knew more about Liz and Kathy (look at Liz) than I did some of my own friends.
So, at first, I have to say that I was pretty devastated when Kim graduated from high school and left for college. (choke up) I thought that I had lost my best friend. I remember when she came back the first year with pictures loaded onto her new Dell laptop of dorm hallways and these "picnic outings" in Davis. She pointed out the crazy roommate Mel, the shirtless guys John and Sameer (look at John and Sameer), and the really tall attractive one as Yousif. But back then, I didn’t really want to meet the new people in her life.
It wasn’t until I found myself in Davis three years ago that I really got to spend some real quality time with the two of them together, and that’s when I saw my sister the happiest that I had ever seen her, and that's when I saw how perfect they were as a couple. (For example,) Kim would pick the movie, and Yousif would be required to watch it with her. Or Yousif would drive and Kim would... print out the directions from Google maps (if laughter: she finally got her license about a month ago!).
And it was during that time that I realized that not only had I not lost my best friend, I had gained another one too. And not only had I gained a friend, (choke up) somewhere along the way l felt like I had also gained a third and then a fourth parent as well. Good ones. Competent ones! All the advice, the car rides, the care packages, like that time when the both of you (transition to you) found out I had a fever and drove out to Sunnyvale with a huge bag of soup cans and orange juice and string cheese, that last one which is SO not something you eat when you're sick.
I’m typically too awkward and not talkative enough to say it, but I wanted to thank the both of you (choke up) for taking care of me and having my back... always. And I will sleep soundly knowing you will always do the same for each other. And Yousif: to me, you’ve already been part of the family for awhile but I’m just glad we’re making it official now.