Farewell, Chris...til we meet again.

The past week has been pretty harrowing for me. Two of our closest friends' son died in a tragic choking accident just short of his 29th birthday. It somehow seems wrong to just go on in this personal blog without marking this sad but important event. The beauiful obituary his father wrote, the sad but comforting Mass, the luncheon afterward that was exactly as Chris would have wanted it, with stories told, music played, laughter and love in the air, are over.

It still seems unreal that this person I've known all of his life and nearly all of my adult life, is not here among us. A change in status for all of us, but of course, more for his family.

When Chris' uncle died tragically while he was away at college, he took me aside at the funeral luncheon and asked me to look after his mother and not let her get too sad about her brother's death. Because he wasn't there to do it. And he's not here to do it now. I will do the best I can to honor Chris' wish to comfort his beautiful mother in her grief. And father and brothers and sisters. But I wish it would really help more than I know it will...our consolation that we know we will see him again in heaven is overwhelmed by not seeing him today, here on earth.

Of course, we all regret that we didn't make more time to hang out with him! If only we knew how short his time here would be.

Chris was one of the most courageous people I've ever known. It's odd when someone who's diaper you changed on occasion becomes someone to teach YOU lessons. But that was Chris. Be determined. Never give up. Keep fighting for your goals. Love the ones that love you and let them help you when you're the one who needs it. Appreciate. Be kind. Thank people. Be considerate. Laugh. Enjoy each person in your life. Have courage.

Chris, we miss you. This world became a better place 29 Septembers ago, and a worse place last Friday. Til we meet again. Love, Robin