Surprised

Cassy
I saw my sister Cassy at the Nada Surf concert. She was so excited to see me she almost cried. She showed me the tattoo-in-progress on her back of an octopus attacking a pirate ship. A dude with hair like Doc Brown from Back to the Future starting hitting on her. She said they were friends, but my big brother instincts kicked in and I kept my eye on the guy, even though I'm her little brother. I'm always surprised by how much she loves me. I figure I'm kind of boring, and most people aren't so overjoyed to see me. But she always is. I love her so much.

Mayott
Kathy and I hung out with a friend I hadn't seen for three or four years: Clarence Mayott. Mayott told his wife, Kendra, that four years is water under the bridge for guys like us. Things have changed, he's a dad, with a real job, we're both married. But he's the same guy I knew and loved four years ago, and I can't wait to see him in four more years.

Mom
We forgot my mom's birthday. I don't even know how old she is. Me, my older brother, and our wives forgot. The only kid who remembered was TJ, because he lives with her. She was sad, but she handled it okay. I forgot to let her know how much I love her. I hope she's never surprised by it.

Kathy
I told Kathy there was an internship this fall in Salt Lake that I thought about getting. She said she would drop all of her classes and go with me if that's what I wanted. It surprised me. She's been stressing about her schedule and graduating on time for months. This internship would throw everything off. She saw that surprise in my face and said something like, "I'm with you all the way, baby." I hugged the breath out of her. It surprised me how committed she is to me. I love her so much.