Thanksgiving

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change...

We've discovered we have too few photos of Aaron from 2005. Above is a photo of Aaron throwing frisbee at Mount Bachelor Academy sometime in late 2004. It reminds me of the last day I saw Aaron, May 8, 2005. We threw the frisbee in our yard and briefly considered going to play frisbee golf. Being Mother's Day and a little chilly, we concluded the frisbee golf could be played another day. There was never another day.

The other photo is from May-June of 2004 on a wilderness retreat in the Idaho desert. A funny story we heard from his group leader had to do with the group selecting Aaron to be their navigator:

Aaron had just arrived and the group had formed bonds from their days together. A student had left the group so Aaron was filling an opening. The groups mission included a couple hundred mile hike through unmarked country from one post to another. The position of navigator was one each student desired for some reason. The group leader nominated Aaron for the prestigious post. After some discussion, the group agreed. A fellow group member said to Aaron, "OK, the good news is you're the navigator. The bad news is we lost the compass."

The next 40 days gave Aaron tremendous understandings on being a man, flexibility, nature and his place in nature, trust, compassion, and of course navigation. Aaron learned to make a fire without matches and I never had him show me how he did it. I guess there was to be more time for these things. What I did see was maturity, confidence, and virtue.

Today Cathy and I heard two wonderful memory shares about Aaron from adults who knew him. Those are precious gifts to us. As much as you think you will remember everything about your children, you don't. And, some of the best memories are ones other people have and give to us. If you have an Aaron story you'd like to share please send it. I know I feel starved for his personality. When I hear a story about Aaron I can see him. They sometimes spark a memory of my own.

This Thanksgiving we are thankful for God's mercy. We thank God for two wonderful sons, Aaron and Patrick, and say thanks for all the people who touch their lives.

Peace,

Tom