Last summer Ethan got a little motorcycle to tool around on. He loved the sport and his thoughtful mother arranged to surprise Ethan for his birthday. We did a great job selling Ethan that he’d never get one because it was too dangerous, etc. He had given up asking for one – which made the surprise all the sweeter. With the help of some amazing neighbors who helped source and assemble the motorcycle (thank you Seth Lloyd), Ethan had the surprise of his life.
Little Wyatt, who is now fast approaching the age of Mitch when he passed away, was so excited for his brother. Though he was anxious to enjoy a gift he never thought he’d get, Ethan looked at Wyatt’s big eyes and said, “Do you want a ride?” Wyatt smiled with delight as his older brother handed him his helmet. Carefully they drove down our cul-de-sac and as Wyatt carried with him an enormous grin. These are the kind of days parents live for. To see your child find joy is one thing, but to see your child give joy to another is altogether different. That is a satisfaction of a deeper sort. If I find deep joy in watching my own children love and lift another, how might our Father feel about us doing the same to each other?
Ethan has told me on several occasions that he wants to use the lessons he’s learned from his fallen brother to help others. At 14 years of age, he reads Mitchell’s Journey all the time and comes back to me with ideas, insights and self-discoveries. Sometimes I cry when I reflect on the things he says – for tender mercies abound.
Ethan has learned to put his arm around Wyatt like he did Mitch. Every day he is shaping his little brother through kindness and brotherly mentorship. Oh, they’re not perfect. They’re just like any young brothers who tease and fight – they take things too far and their arguments sometimes seem to go on too long. They both have their strengths and growth opportunities, like all of us do. But the point isn’t that they stumble, but rather how they get back up again. Their forgiveness isn’t conditional. I love that.
To young Wyatt, on this warm summer afternoon, his older brother was a super brother-turned superhero. He inspired me just as much as his little brother.
Happy Memorial Day, son. I remember you every second of every day. I visit often this place where your body lay. Strangely a place of peace and great unrest, slowly learning to live while coping with your death.
The summer sun was about to fade into evening as my kids discovered a hole I was digging in our back yard. The freshly-turned soil was soft and as inviting to a child as a shiny playground or a new puddle on the heels of a summer storm. Like flies to honey, these little ones ran to the dirt pile to see what it was all about. Within minutes Laura-Ashley and Ethan were busy exploring the uncovered earth. Mitch found his way to them and plopped his little bum in the dirt and began to play with them. At one point, Mitch turned back at me and smiled as if to say, “Hey Dad! I’m one of the big kids now.” Mitch then turned toward his siblings and continued to squish handfuls of dirt with his chubby little fingers.
Natalie and I were poor as church mice, struggling to launch a company and trying to make the most of what little we had. We learned early in our marriage that material things, though nice, never made us truly happy – in fact, we found that the preoccupation with things got in the way of that which we wanted most. So on this day, I found our children huddled around an ordinary pile of dirt having an extraordinary youthful experience, my heart skipped a beat or two.
In the background was an inflatable swimming pool on our trampoline filled with water. That was our inexpensive way of having a watery ruckus with our kids. I loved watching our kids bounce and slosh about in a pool that suddenly became a washing machine. I can still hear their giggles today.
There were many months we worried about how we’d make ends meet; each day was a step into the fog of the unknown. Not sure how we would to pay for the mortgage or even diapers … we agonized over how we’d make it. Although those times were difficult for our family … looking back, I miss the struggle. I miss our life back then.
Though I thought my life a curious hell – facing an uncertain and turbulent financial future – I now look back on those hard times with fondness and a deep sense of appreciation. We could hardly pay for groceries – yet we had Friday night den parties with popcorn fit for a king. Our sippy cups were filled with a 50/50 blend of water and apple juice because that was all we could afford. Our kids didn't know or care … they were just grateful to have something – and so were we. Though our pockets were almost empty, our hearts were overflowing.
Sometimes I wondered in moments of hardship, “Why am I struggling like this? Father, will you help me?” Relief eventually came. Though we struggled in our wilderness, tender mercies were abundant – we just didn't have the eyes to see them at the time. Days felt like weeks, weeks felt like months, and months felt like years … but I can see now what our Father was doing to our family back then. We learned lessons we would have never gained on an easier road. In my heart and soul, I thank my Father and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Today is Mitchell’s birthday. He would have turned 13. He died just before his 11th birthday – so young and innocent. Though I know his soul lives on, I miss my little boy in my arms.
When I think back on this beautiful moment with my children, surrounded by worry and struggle, self-doubt and fear, I can see beauty in the struggle. I long for that struggle and the things it taught me and the moments it afforded me with my family.
Today I face a different form of poverty … one borne of grief. At least to me, grief is a form of emotional poverty. Yes, grief is an expression of deep love and longing for what once was … but it also tends to come at the expense of momentary happiness. Grief is not a choice, it is the price we pay for having loved someone deeply.
As poor as my soul feels, I know I’ll look back one day … at today … with fondness. For I will see, like I can see in my early years, what my Father is doing to me – and I will be grateful.
This evening we’ll be taking our kids to the Olive Garden, Mitchell’s favorite restaurant. I’ll have his favorite Tour of Italy. Together, our family will laugh and remember the good times and cry a little about the hard times. Most importantly, we will be grateful that we had time.
We’ll then visit the cemetery to honor our little boy, who through his death, taught us how to live.
Happy Birthday, little boy. You are my struggle. You are a gift to my heart and soul.
When I took this photo, little Mitch and Ethan were racing down a slippy-slide on their tummies. I loved watching these little kids be kids.
At one point they decided to slide down together at the same time. When they reached the bottom they both sat up and laughed as only little boys know to do. Ethan then reached around his little brother and gave him a big hug. Mitch smiled and hugged him back, then a few seconds later kissed him on the cheek. I posted that photo some time ago.
As I watched these little brothers, my little boys, be good to each other my heart swelled with a love that was eternal – a kind of love that is not from this place. I don’t know what little Mitch was thinking at the moment of this photo, but I can’t help but wonder if he was learning love.
Mitch was a quiet, reflective thinker. His facial expressions often revealed he was thinking deeply on a topic. And his eyes … oh, his eyes … there were layers within layers. Sometimes, when we had father-son time, Mitch would share his observations (which were startlingly perceptive) about adults, peers and life in general. Though he wasn't a boy of many words, and his vocabulary was limited to that of a young child, he had moments where his words were deeper than deep.
There was one point in Mitchell’s young life, not too long before we discovered his heart was in trouble, he had an aide who was unkind to him. In fact, from what I can tell, she was rude and borderline abusive to him. It broke my heart to learn such things. When we learned of the trouble Mitch was having and the things she did and said, you can bet we intervened. To my dismay, this woman never owned up to her behavior and had a pocket-full of cheap excuses. She was reassigned. I was sad for her and confused why she would be unkind to a little boy who struggled in ways healthy children did not. As I struggled to understand why she was the way she was, I remembered the saying “those who hurt people, hurt.”
My point isn't to excite Mitchell’s Journey readers to anger that someone would be unkind to Mitch. Please, let that go. Instead, I want to draw focus to Mitchell’s response to those who were unkind to him. When I asked Mitch how he felt about things he said, “Dad, I just try to see with my heart.” I was taken aback by his statement and asked, “What do you mean, son?” Mitch replied, “When you see with your heart, you see everything that matters. She doesn't mean to be rude.” He didn't know what else to say or how to describe how he was feeling – but I could tell he had already forgiven the woman who was unkind. He saw more than I saw. He saw a soul in need of love and understanding. I remember crying when Mitch shared his thoughts of forgiveness and love. I said to my son, “Mitch, who were you before you came here?” I had the feeling his soul, wrapped inside that broken body, was much older than mine. With that, I kissed him on the forehead and we drove to an ice cream shop and talked about some upcoming movies he wanted to see.
When you see with your heart, you see everything that matters. Wow. I wasn't seeing with my heart, but instead my troubled mind. I was upset and, in truth, I had feelings of recrimination. But Mitch saw something different … he saw with his heart and that freed his heart from anger.
I have been hurt a time or two in my life. I know how intoxicating anger can be and the prison it can become. I also know when people do us wrong the very act of forgiveness might seem nearly impossible. But Mitch taught me how to see with my heart and remember that we all come from the same place and we all have the same Father.
Though we may be strangers in life, when we see with our heart we realize we are no different than these brothers in this photo. We are family ... a human family with a common spiritual source and we are here to learn love. When I remember that, when I see with my heart, I see everything that matters.