They Are Everyday Heroes

"Heroes (we could be)" by Alesso is the song which came on when the absence of Bradan finally hit me in November. He and Kristin used to sing it together constantly. They would just belt it out, Bradan contrasting his slightly off-pitch tone against Kristin with her power-house voice. And I loved it!

Now that Bradan is away (dedicating his time to serving the people of Puerto Rico as a missionary of the Lord) and Kristin is home battling a rare ovarian cancer, the lyrical memories hold deeper meaning for me.

Hearing Kristin boldly sing it solo as we track along the dark miles between Salt Lake City and Boise, I realize Bradan to be a spiritual hero; Kristin a physical hero. They are everyday heroes, a rank above super hero, in my eyes.

Let my heart swell and the tears flow...

One Lump Sum

On Monday, the family attended my Uncle Harold's service. It was a wonderful life tribute filled with stories of near- death adventures, wild motor cycle rides, and military attacks in the jungles of Guam. Later that evening we were dining at Fiesta Guadalajara. My young son, Gavan, looked up at the big screen TV to see the car races showing, and asked, "Is that how your brother died? From the cars?"

It took me a split second to understand his question. Then I realized: viewing Harold's lifeless 90-year-old body, hearing all the motorcycle stories at the funeral, and having visited my brother's gravesite on several other occasions, Gavan jumbled all the information into one lump sum, trying to process it.

I giggled a little and said, "No, sweetheart."

I went on to explain that my Uncle Harold loved fast dirt bikes (not cars) and passed away just last week. My brother was a musician, but was really ill at the time he died, many years ago.

After my brief discussion, Gavan simply held out his tiny hand and asked for another dollar to go capture a rubber animal in the claw machine. Ahhh. The random mind of a kindergartener...