Wednesday, October 17, 2007

10 Reasons

We are still in a bit of shock here.... my husbands' best friend from high school passed away on Monday... his brother called us and at first Dave thought he was joking around... we quickly ran over to the house and sure enough... Kevin was in his bed - but he was no longer there. The cause is still unknown and the reality hasn't yet set in... of course, we prayed for him and -crazy as I am - I had hoped to see him rise up and come forth - much like Lazarus. I know... honestly - but that is how I am wired and I take Jesus at His Word... He said we should be healing the sick and raising the dead and let me tell you - on Monday night - I was about sick and tired of it not working... anyway - this post is not about that... I just wanted to post SOMETHING... move forward... think it through a bit and begin to process...

So - off the top of my head, here are 10 Reasons why we love and will miss Kevin...

10. He always had some deep thought or new idea that was so beyond my own ability to comprehend and understand ...he was brilliant, genius even, and he pushed us to learn more and catch up - always on top of the latest Scientific discovery or latest (REAL) news stories!

9. I loved it when he would call and talk to Kayelyn for 20 minutes before asking for Dave... and she loved that he always called her Princess Kayelyn. (Who doesn't need to be reminded that they are a princess once in awhile?!)

8. We loved his sense of humor and his ability to make us laugh... almost always!

7. We loved his soft heart... if there was a wounded animal or a stray ANYTHING anywhere close to him... he'd be feeding it for weeks to come?!

6. We loved his willing heart to help out anyone less fortunate than himself... even those who were more fortunate but still in need... he'd give above and beyond when he really didn't have it to give... whether it was labor, food, money... well - it was seldom money - but if he had it and you could use it - it was called yours!

5. I am gonna miss his crazy theological questions or deep ponderings about God... he would call at the strangest times and draw me into the weirdest conversations about God... I loved those conversations and treasure them now!

4. Dave will miss the hours of equal competition... golf, cribbage, chess, any kind of cards, any game whatsoever - they would ALWAYS have tie-breakers... it was rare for one to beat the other SOUNDLY! They were evenly matched... whether sports or games or intelligence...

3. He was a true and steady friend... someone who knew Dave from way before I knew Dave... who had stories from childhood and we could reminisce and remember the old days, while still knowing that the Good days are right here, right now! The value of relaxing with a friend who has been with you through the best days and the worst days... who was STILL there! We will miss that a lot!

2. We will miss the taunting and the made-up songs of Dave's losing and how Kev' was the Winner... (as I mentioned, it almost always ended in a tie-break... so if Kevin won - EVERYONE knew! LOL!)

...and the #1 Reason why we will miss Kevin is:
He was part of our life... part of our family... he was lovingly (honestly!) referred to as my husbands' 'other wife'... Dave saw Kevin once or twice a week... pretty much all the time, for over 20 years... to think that he won't call... that there will not be another impromtu pool challenge or golf game... no more Cribbage or Chess or watching the US Open at his house... it is too much...

But then again, I also have peace when I realize that his back no longer hurts, he is no longer in constant pain... his theological questions are now being answered by Father God and Jesus Himself... he is not lacking or less than or needy or questioning his life or regretting his past anymore... he is with God. He is happy, he is healthy, he is where we long to be... and damn it... he wins again!?

We love you Kevin... you were a good friend, a strong brother, a trusted confidant... and we will see you again on the streets of gold!

On a side note - I am so mad at myself for not taking PHOTO's of Kevin!? All those afternoons hanging out - seemed so.... so.... normal? - that I didn't think to take photo's?! (sigh) Mostly - it was Dave and Kevin hanging out or playing sports... and the guys don't really think or want to take pictures of each other...

Still, I encourage you to take pictures of your everyday life and the everyday people that you strive to not take for granted... I so wish I would have clicked away at Kevin!

Be blessed and scrap On!
~Karri~

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful tribute to Kevin, I wish we could have got to know him better. Our hearts & prayers are with you all & if theres anything else we can do please don't hesitate to ask.

He wins again...well put,love it.
Love you all!!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful tribute and my heart goes out to your family for surely Kevin will be missed...

As for taking photos of the everyday...wow...I couldn't agree more. Of course I have a million photos of my dad but when they came up here in the spring of 05 and three days later my dad ended up in the hospital with a heart attack and his prognosis was not good...the first thing I thought of was how I didn't take any photos of him up here in Idaho!! When he made it out of the hospital, the first thing I did was take pictures of him working his daily puzzle, hugging my kids, making waffles for breakfast, etc.

Anonymous said...

Oh Kerri... my heart aches for all the people effected by this. I am so sorry. How incredibly sad.
What a sweet tribute to him.

(((hugs)))

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful tribute, I know what you mean about Jesus, when my son left to go to his heavenly father I was at peace knowing he is with Jesus. I do regret not taking the more pictures, it seems as you said the normal doesn/t get the pictures, a lesson to be learned.