~1st entry’s Explanation -5

The Ninja Kick You Did to the Car; -It was a Wednesday night before Church. When I heard this BANG outside. I went out there to see Nathan and his friend Tyler standing in front of my car. Obviously hiding something. Then I conned them to move, there it was…. On my front Left fender of my car a huge DENT… It seems Nathan was messing around and decided to Ninja Kick my Car.. Only he didn’t expect it to Dent in. Oh at the Moment was I TICKED!!!! And I seemed to be a bit prideful in that.. *What would people think with this Dent in my car*. It was Humiliating to me, so Embarrassing to drive around with a dent in my car! After he died, That Dent became VERY Precious to me. It was like a Gift. Everytime I saw the Dent, I was reminded of my son. And when people asked about the Dent, I proudly told people about my Special Dent. What I thought was so awful at first, actually became a Blessing to me later. Age 11

Getting on those *Silly Highs*; -He would get SO silly, almost like a High. I would try to talk serious to him, and he wouldn’t be serious cause he was on this *Silly High* Most of the time I didn’t mind it. It was part of his Humorist Attitude.

Pogs; -He like every other kid when he was in the 5th Grade was into these. He had abunch. Then one day he wanted to come in his Sister’s room and she wouldn’t let him, so he traded her all his Pogs for a hour in her room. Then he *thought* she would give them back. Hey a Deal was a Deal.

Collecting Bugs; -He loved collecting Bugs. It was often that we had a Jar of Bugs sitting on the Kitchen Counter to Observe.

Digging Holes in the Backyard; -Everything as in Phone and Cable lines was buried in our backyard. We had to constantly tell him NOT to dig.. But yet shoot, that’s what boys do.. they dig in the dirt.

Taylor, Gabe & Tyler; -Taylor lived 4 houses down. His family was Christian. He was a year younger than Nathan, but they were good Friends. Gabe lived across the Street from Taylor. They were Mormons. He was also a year younger than Nathan. They too were Good Friends. Gabe was the last friend to see Nathan alive. They were playing together just an hour before Nathan went to the Hospital. Then there was Tyler, Tyler was the same age as Nathan, they lived two houses up. They had only lived in the neighborhood for about 1 year. Tyler practically lived at our house and ate a bunch of our food. Tyler was with Nathan when he had the Bike Accident a month earlier. Tyler seemed to have the hardest time excepting Nathan’s Death. These 4 boys played a lot together. When Nathan Died I gave each of these boys something of Nathan’s to remember him by.

“I get the Front Seat”; -Nathan and Sarah were always fighting over the front seat when we went anywhere’s.. probably like most Siblings do. Whoever called it first got to ride in the front seat on the way to wherever we went and on the way back it was the other one’s turn.

Otto, Your Cocker Spaniel; -We got Otto in December 1995, Nathan spent the most time with Otto. Otto always looked so forward everyday when the School Bus would come up the street. He knew Nathan would be walking through that door… Then one day.. Nathan no longer walked through that door. That was tough watching.. here was an excited dog awaiting…….

Skate Boarding; -Nathan loved to Skateboard. One time his friend Delvon (who used to live on the street ) took his Skateboard down the hill behind our house. We all tried to talk him out of it… He was riding it on his stomach, and at the bottom was a cross street. Mom, remember that? You were there visiting at the time. We all thought that kid was Crazy! He managed to fall off the board before he got to the bottom… I think it kind of scared him and he never did it again.

Reading with Mom; -I read to Nathan from the time he was a baby. In school he really struggled to read. Then in the 2nd Grade it finally Clicked! And having a series of books he was interested in was helpful. He had book reports to do and we kind of cheated, in that I would read a Chapter and have him read a Chapter, etc. Then when we weren’t doing this for School I would just read. He was still letting me read to him when he was 12… but it was getting less. I so enjoyed this time. All the cool adventures we went on in these Books. He was very thoughtful in that at the Library we would get a bunch of books, and I would ask him which books he wanted to read, and he would say to me… “Well What Do YOU want to read”. He was always thinking about the other person first.

Library Programs; -Every Summer we were involved in the Library Programs. A fun way to encourage kids to read. We went to the Library every week to get more books and cash in their Points. Also to attend the special Craft or Speaker of the Week. Then another Day each Week we went to the Free Movie they showed. What a Fun time it was for us all.

Skate City; -In the Summer we had Skate Passes. It only cost us $1,00 each to Skate for 2 hours. We usually did it on Wednesday later afternoons, from 4-6pm then went to Taco Bell for Dinner and then to Church by 7pm. We did that for several Summers.

~to be Continued~