guardians

This post is dedicated to my brother, partly because it centers around the events of his 21st birthday, but mostly because we were each other's first guardians.

Well, I was his first guardian--aside from our parents--and have always been protective of my little brother; he's not so little anymore, but I'm still protective. He, on the other hand, was the first person to understand that I dislike being "guarded," and so to watch out for me without trying to save me from anything. He is always observing me and thinking about me (and his younger sisters) and, because we have been partners in crime since 8 or 9 months before his birth, we destroy all other teams when we are paired at Cranium. (These days he's crushing all of us at the Man Game, but that's as it should be, I suppose.)

Anyway, as a result of all this, combined with his love for art and special effects, it's not so surprising that it was his idea to start our grown-up tradition of going to see animated movies for each of our birthdays. We've seen "Tangled," "The Muppets," "Arthur Christmas," and most recently (yesterday) "Rise of the Guardians."

OK everyone, listen up: WATCH THIS MOVIE. It's so good.

I know that I'm a sucker for this kind of touchy-feely, "good things in the universe" business, but I think everyone can benefit from a dose of that stuff every now and then. This movie features Santa (Alec Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), and the Sandman, brought together by the Man in the Moon--all the guardians of our childhood, our innocence, our capacity for joy and wonderment, our ability to dream and to believe in anything of consequence.

And when fear starts closing in and extinguishing all these lights from the world--a topic I could almost write a thesis on--the Man in the Moon appoints another Guardian: Jack Frost (Chris Pine), the Guardian of Fun.

For me, jaded beyond reason this Christmas season, the Rise of the Guardians actually did save me from totally succumbing to cynicism. It reminded me of the true significance of holidays and rites of passage. Not that I had completely forgotten, but the older I get, and the more immersed in an individualistic, dog-eat-dog societal routine, the more profound and necessary these messages appear to me. The more I need movies like "Love Actually" and, now, "Rise of the Guardians."

But really, we are each other's guardians in the day-to-day. It falls to us to remind each other of our innocence and joy and dreams, year-round. My brother, for example, is the Sandman (and not just because he conked out on the couch halfway through "Back to the Future" on Friday night). He is the Sandman because he is utilitarian in his communication, and he creates art out of nothing, like dreams out of sand. He reminds me of the weight of details, the importance of paying attention to them and remembering them, every day.

Happy birthday, bro. And everyone else: happy new year. May your 2013s be full of wonder.