We dreamed about living together one day

 It has been a full rotation around the sun since my brother passed. There isn't too much I can express about this because it feels very full. This is my funeral speech about him. He is so dearly missed. The space between him and me feels greater and smaller all at the same time. I deeply wish I could feel his hugs again. 

For over the past two weeks, numerous people have reached out to my family and to me personally. Every person that knew Britton on any level mentioned how kind, caring, and good he was. He is an example of "you having no idea how your life will impact others." He left this world too soon but he left an impression on us. 

He would tell me he wanted a little family of his own. He wanted to see the world. We dreamed about living together one day. And talked about how cool it would be if we lived in the same house with our little families and then proceeded to grow old together. 

Britton often though got on my nerves because we both knew how to push each other. We knew every button. So I always told him that the house had to be quite large. 

 I want to honor Britton today by telling little snippets of the memories I have of him. 

There is a dumb song we used to sing to each other I did have a recording of this but technology decided to just erase it. Anyways, it goes, “Good morning 3x, time to rise and shine I hope you're feeling fine!” And that's how we would answer the phone most of the time. And I’m sure he sang it to other people as well. Though it was a song we sang to each other on Christmas mornings.

It was the early 2000s in sunny San Diego. It happened to be Christmas. My mom would get us a gift for my siblings and me that was all kind of the same. It was considered our stocking gift you could say. Now I do not remember what our gifts actually looked like at all but we all received pajama pants. Britton quickly unwrapped his pulled them out and said “What the hell?!?” he was insinuating that the pants were ugly in his opinion. From that moment on, we joked as a family talking about the “What the hell pants.” Oh, don’t forget about your what the hell pants!

When Britton and I were in late elementary and early middle school, we would, sorry Dad and Mom, skip Sunday school and hang out with the Hispanic workers who lived in the hills behind the church. They would always give Britton dried chili peppers which he would promptly eat…but we had to be careful so that we didn’t dirty our Sunday clothes. 

Britton and I were around 1st and 3rd grade when we lived on El Norte. Our house was right by the park and often we would talk to the other kids behind the fence on the park side. I’m not sure if Britton constantly thought about food or if it's just a gene that the De Young family inherits, but the kids asked what our names were and he replies oh my name is Briiton and this is my sister Burrito…this story to me just reflects how incredibly goofy he was. 

Britt Britt had a very close relationship with our mom and he would often rub her feet or massage her head. He loved to take care of her in any way he knew how. And she loved to take care of him and his wild ways. Then us three would paint our nails together for the evening. It was like a little spa day. 

He and I would play barbies together growing up. It was a love-hate relationship whenever we did. He always had to have the prettiest barbie. His barbies would be the richest and have huge mansions. And somehow I had to be the neighbor who lived in a “normal” house. All of a sudden he had all the barbie clothes as well. So of course I would get mad and we would start fighting. 10 minutes later we would say sorry and then play outside. We were both very intense with each other. 

When I graduated from college Britton stayed with me. One night we went out with my friends. There is this event that would take place called Bottom 40, they would just play bottom 40 music and the proceeds would go to a nonprofit. Now this was Michigan summer heat so the nights are fairly hot and humid. Next thing I knew britton was dancing with his shirt off and came up to me and said…We get free beer now. Ok..why is that? Oh well, their sound system sucked so I just walked up and fixed it all. Oh ok sounds great. He was excellent at knowing how things worked. 

Britton loved music. He loved every kind of beat. Britton especially loved music that pulled at your heartstrings. He would send me songs that he loved or songs that made him think about me. I sometimes felt like we were born into the wrong bodies. Or that he was my ying to my yang. He wasn’t just my brother, he was my kindred spirit. 

He was very smart and held a lot of emotions. He loved to hug you even if you weren’t the touchy-feely type. I swear he had the best hugs out of anybody that I know. There is no question about it. Britt britt would often give you a hug even if you didn’t want it. My dad is a true example of that. 

Over the years after my mom passed away, I noticed how some of my choices, actions, and my desire to be hospitable were direct reflections of her. With Britton over the past few years, I have noticed the fluctuations of my voice or my desire to spazz out and say funny things not only remind me of him but show me how similar I am to him. It's as if I can literally hear him say the exact same thing in my head.

Britton’s body may be here on this earth adjacent to his mom but he is also so close to my heart and I know that is the same for many of you. So when you feel a burst of energy spazz out a little. When you hug someone make sure that hug resonates with them. Though when you introduce a sibling or close friend make sure you call them by their name and not introduce them as Burrito. 

I want to personally thank everyone that is here today. I want you to know that it means a lot to me but I think it means a lot to Britton to see you here with us. Thank you.