2024/22 SHARING THE WEALTH

Dave and I are lucky to have four pretty great kids. They each seek to do good and be good. One in particular, and I won’t name names, is already living the Lord’s promise to us that all that He has will be ours. (John 17:10)

All people and all things will be circumscribed into one great whole.

He-who-will-not-be-named has a strong sense of oneness with the world around him. He considers himself an integral part of the human team.

He is so charming that pretty much everyone goes along with whatever he’s doing. The truth is, he is quite selfless in what he does. I think he figures everyone else is as well. He’s been this way since he was very small. He never had a problem sharing his Matchbox cars.  Even though his toy cars have turned into real cars, the attitude remains. What’s his is available to you. He has such a positive attitude about the rest of humankind that he assumes everyone else feels the same way. It is not selfishness, I’m quite sure of that. Practically everything he does, besides skiing, is for other people. That’s where he finds his joy. 

When he needs to borrow the sound system its usually for a race he’s emceeing or a wedding he’s performing or a show he’s doing for someone else. I pulled out my big Mackey audio mixer the other day and scraped off flecks of paint from whatever his last project was. I go through the rapid-fire emotional journey of being irritated then being charmed. It happens all the time with this child. I tried to evaluate it and I have come to believe that the frustrations are almost always softened by the fact that he is absolutely without malice in what he does. He is confident the people he loves the most are willing to sacrifice for the betterment of the whole. I want him to be correct in that.

A couple typical texts.

When he was a senior in high school and playing baseball for Davis High he would come home from a game or tournament and basically undress as he walked back to the Jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. I would come home and first see his cleats and ball cap, then his jersey, followed by his belt. pants, socks and compression shorts. They marked the pathway to the tub, like Hansel and Gretel in the woods. I remember him standing in the doorway with a towel around his waist while I yelled at him. He smiled and said, “Aw Mom, you’re going to miss this when I’m gone.”

“I’m going to miss you. I’m not going to miss this!” I said.

I was right. I do miss his daily presence. Thank goodness he lives close by. Close enough to walk into the house and take whatever he needs.