Happy Birthday, Buddy
Note: I've been neglecting Ye Olde Bloggy-Blog of late, Facebook is just more convenient in some ways. I do appreciate the permanence of the blog, though, so I'm going to try to do a better job with it.
It's that time of year again, July 1st, my best friend's birthday. Brad would have been 35 today, and is missed by all of his family and friends. He wouldn't want us to mope, though, but instead to remember good times and to use his birthday as an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on our other relationships.
The first of July that I'll always remember best has touches of both happiness and sadness. He got to meet his niece, Jordan, for the first time - something he had looked forward to from the day he found out that Matt and René were having their first child. We sat in the living room of his and Erin's house, and just saw him light up when she was brought in. He wasn't feeling well at all, so that afternoon we went to the doctor. It was then that we heard the news that the cancer that would eventually take him from us had spread pretty aggressively. I know, though, that if you'd asked him about that day later, all he would talk about was seeing Jordan for the first time and what a great birthday gift that had been.
Tonight, I'll raise a drink to my best friend, and thank God for him once more. It is encouraging to know that I'm never alone in that and also to know that we'll be together again one day. Maybe there'll even be a Caribbean Stud table and a pit boss named Ricardo, but Brad will only call him Renaldo...
While it's easy to appreciate someone after they've gone, let's also all think about the people in our lives NOW that we are blessed with. Let's tell them what they mean to us, treat them well, and love them always.
-CP
It's that time of year again, July 1st, my best friend's birthday. Brad would have been 35 today, and is missed by all of his family and friends. He wouldn't want us to mope, though, but instead to remember good times and to use his birthday as an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on our other relationships.
The first of July that I'll always remember best has touches of both happiness and sadness. He got to meet his niece, Jordan, for the first time - something he had looked forward to from the day he found out that Matt and René were having their first child. We sat in the living room of his and Erin's house, and just saw him light up when she was brought in. He wasn't feeling well at all, so that afternoon we went to the doctor. It was then that we heard the news that the cancer that would eventually take him from us had spread pretty aggressively. I know, though, that if you'd asked him about that day later, all he would talk about was seeing Jordan for the first time and what a great birthday gift that had been.
Tonight, I'll raise a drink to my best friend, and thank God for him once more. It is encouraging to know that I'm never alone in that and also to know that we'll be together again one day. Maybe there'll even be a Caribbean Stud table and a pit boss named Ricardo, but Brad will only call him Renaldo...
While it's easy to appreciate someone after they've gone, let's also all think about the people in our lives NOW that we are blessed with. Let's tell them what they mean to us, treat them well, and love them always.
-CP
posted by CP @ 10:50 AM
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