The Fantastic Four
Family.
Some people love theirs. Some people don’t.
I can speak only from my own experience growing up and how important family is to me. Those who know me well know that the ties within my family are strong—and the bond between my brothers and me is even stronger.
We’re a package deal.
Everyone knows everything...
Well, almost.
This post isn’t about my entire family. It’s more of a reflection on the years behind us and, more importantly, a celebration of my brothers’ birthdays and how they have molded, shaped, and helped me become who I am today.
So, to begin: Happy birthday, Eric and Nick!
May the years ahead bring you joy, happiness, love, and more trips to Minnesota...because I have a shed that still needs to be built.
Thanks.
My mom called me the other day, as she does every year, asking what she should do for my brothers’ birthdays. Since we discussed several ideas, we naturally concluded that Nick may be the most difficult person on the planet to shop for.
Eric would be perfectly happy with a 99-cent Ferrari Hot Wheels car.
But considering that Eric has practically every Ferrari Hot Wheels car ever made—and Nick owns every “As Seen on TV” item ever conceived—we started thinking about what we could create or build for them.
Homemade gifts are honestly more memorable anyway.
Personally—mostly because I’m broke—I’ll give them, you guessed it, pictures and priceless artwork from a three- and six-year-old.
Sometimes you simply can’t put a price tag on creations like that.
As my mission for this post continued, I dug through more than 100,000 photographs spanning the past few decades, trying to find as many pictures of the “Four Feld Boys” as possible.
I’m not going to lie: It was an awesome trip down memory lane.
While looking through the photographs, all I could think about was how much we have evolved and changed over the years. Whenever anyone hears or sees the four of us together today, it becomes obvious almost immediately that we have our own language, nicknames, mannerisms, inside jokes, and strong-willed, independent, creative, and picky minds.
Bless our parents’ souls.
I’ll give you a brief example.
It’s probably most confusing to be an outsider in one of our conversations when we’re talking about one another. We use so many nicknames and references that it’s often difficult for someone new to follow along.
We all have several nicknames for each other, but to clarify: Eric and Nick are my oldest brothers and identical twins.
Look through the older pictures. Can you tell them apart?
Andrew is the middle child. I’m not sure where he got his looks, but his appearance earned him one of his first nicknames: Duck.
Growing up, he had the softest, most vibrant yellow hair. Duck is just one of the handful of names that stuck.
As I mentioned, we all have different nicknames for one another. Eric’s and Nick’s names are interchangeable. They’re identical twins, remember? Either one might answer to “Your Brother,” “My Brother,” or the phrase “Excuse You.”
Andrew usually goes by “My Friend” or “Duck.”
Now that I think about it, we probably use our real names only when talking to our parents. When all four of us are together, things become confusing rather quickly.
Can you imagine being introduced to us and hearing this?
“Have you seen my friend?”
“No, call my brother. He may be with Duck.”
You would probably become lost instantly while trying to determine whom we were actually discussing. It’s like the “Who’s on First?” routine all over again.
Ahh, brothers.
I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
I hope you enjoy this brief walk through time and the history of the Four Feld Boys.
Notice that it begins with the greatest gift in the first picture...
The youngest brother.
Happy birthday!
