#9. Up on the rooftop.
the day after Nate's dad, Ron, died this summer,
all the kids were at our house. For one solid week
they hung out here--circling their friend with love
and noise and food and chatter.
as Ron would have wanted it.
one day, just for the heck of it, they lugged all my
"happy chairs" up to the roof.
and sat. and texted. and laughed. and talked.
we WERE home, we DID let them do this. we WERE being
semi-responsible parents. (even though one of our
less desirable neighbors did come over and yell at
us about this...to which i replied...well, things
best left unsaid.)
Josh learned about true love this year. A different
kind than what we normally think about when we say
"true love." This is the deeper kind, that comes
through heart ache and friendship and healing.
#10. with death comes learning
Death made an imprint on my boys soul this year
and caused him to stretch and think and grow.
first, his grandpa ladanye who died in march.
i watched as josh thoughtfully, and carefully,
"composed" and rearranged his own version of grandpa's
favorite song ("how great thou art") and bawled as
he practiced it and filled our home with a wonderful
spirit as he played it.
over and over, until he got it "right".
i proudly watched him play at the funeral.
which is saying a lot...josh HATES (hates! hates!)
to play the piano in public, but did it for a grandpa
that he loved.
second, at Ron's funeral josh and all the friends
were pall bearers.
it brought tears to my eyes to see them sitting
all lined up in their white shirts and ties and coats.
big, tall, handsome, somber boys.
respectfully honoring a man that they loved.
a man that loved them in return.
they carried the casket with dignity and grace
and the hearts of boys MUCH older than 17.
i saw that day a glimpse into the souls of ALL
those boys--i saw a glimpse of the men they will
each become.
i liked what i saw.
i know (know!) our future is in good hands!
just as Ron was in good hands that day with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment