As I was cleaning and reorganizing Bubba's boy cave today, I found several interesting and unique items. I won't go into detail, but I found one particular thing that made me stop what I was doing, sit down, and think...and pray.
Bubba is our star athelete. He plays sports year-round, and God has blessed him abundantly with natural athletic instincts. We've been told by many a coach what great potential he has. I really do look forward to seeing how he excels in sports as he continues on to middle school and high school.
There is one coach that stands out above all others as Bubba's favorite. D.T. was Bubba's basketball coach in the 2009 season. He was a young man, 18 years old, and such a sweetie! He had some troubles in his personal life, but he was magic with the boys on his team. He was also a very gifted basketball player, and all the boys looked up to him. In late summer 2009, D.T. called us to say that he had hand-picked Bubba to be on his basketball team for the 2010 season. Bubba was SO excited; he couldn't wait for January!!!
Later, in the Fall of 2009, we got word that D.T. had taken his life. We were devastated. Not only had we lost a friend, but our son had lost one of his heroes. How on earth were we supposed to tell Bubba what had happened and that there wouldn't be any more basketball with D.T.? It was one of the hardest conversations I've ever had to have with one of my children.
Bubba wanted D.T.'s obituary and I didn't know what had become of it....until today. As I was cleaning, I found the obituary in a special place in Bubba's room. I'm sure he has taken it out over these last months to re-read it and think of his special coach and friend. Finding that made me stop and think about D.T., his brothers, and his sweet mom, who is also a friend of ours. It made me feel a sense of urgency to call her and see how she is coping. You see, D.T.'s birthday was on Christmas day, and I imagine the holidays weren't quite as joyful for their family as they were for mine. It also made me think that that is so common for us - we shower love and comfort on family members for a few weeks when a loved one passes on, but then we resume our regularly scheduled lives. How often do we check on those left behind after that? Not nearly often enough, if you're like me. I want this year to be different. So, I've added this to my list of life-style changes: to frequently check on those left behind. I would want the same for my family, so I must do this.
After a few tears, I found a new special place for D.T.'s obituary. A place where Bubba can find it, and take it out every so often......and remember.
No comments:
Post a Comment