Happy Birthday, Kylan: A Few Words About a Guy Who Makes Life Better
A birthday note for my brother-in-law Kylan. Clever, kind, a wizard with a yard, and somehow turning 38 while looking 20.
On this page
Today is Kylan's birthday, and I wanted to put a few words down about him.
He is turning 38. I know this only because I was told, because if you went off his face you would guess 20 and feel confident about it. The man does not age. He also still has a full head of hair, which I have decided to celebrate rather than resent.
Clever in the best way
Kylan studied biochemistry, so he just knows about that stuff. You can ask him how the body actually works and get a real answer, the kind that makes you go "huh, I should have known that." These days he sells genetic testing, which is a polite way of saying his job is to understand complicated science and then make it make sense to regular people. He is good at it because he is genuinely clever, and clever in the best way. He never once makes you feel slow for asking.
The man can make anything look good
If you have ever been to Kylan's place, you already know. He has a real gift for making things look nice. The yard, a project, a corner of the garage that was complete chaos an hour earlier. He sees the finished version before he picks up a single tool, then he goes and builds exactly that.
I have watched him turn an ordinary afternoon of yard work into something that looks like a magazine. I have also watched him hold a baby goat like it was a newborn child. Both true. Both completely on brand.
Always there
Here is the thing I most want to say. Kylan shows up. Every time I have needed him, he was already there before I finished asking. He is fun to be around AND dependable when it counts, and that combination is rarer than it should be.
He adds to my life. Plain and simple. My days are better with him in them.
A birthday challenge
So happy birthday, little guy. Love you to death. Thirty-eight looks good on you, which is honestly a little annoying.
One request. Cornhole. This year. I have been practicing in secret, and I am fully prepared to either lose with grace or win and talk about it for the rest of the summer.
Either way, I am grateful for you. Have the best day, brother.
— TJ