Welcome to 2THEHEART!
____________________________
Today's story is one that will remind you to cherish every moment with the ones you love. Thank you Ellie for reminding me. My kids get extra kisses and story time thanks to you.
Take Your TREASURES Off the Shelf
by Ellie Braun-Haley
I was with my husband, Shawn at a gardening store and there among the garden ornaments stood a statue of a boy. He looked as though he was five years old and he was intent on looking down at the soccer ball between his feet. I looked at this statue and I took a walk back in time, back to a time when my son was alive.
Suddenly there I was back in 1977 and 1978 to a time when a blonde haired little boy, my son Jason, played soccer. He was so determined and he ran like he had wings on his feet. (Perhaps today he does!) I was able to capture the feeling once again of being the parent of a small boy who was so full of the zest for life.
At the garden centre, I looked at the statue again and then at the price tag. After taxes the statue would be slightly more than a hundred dollars. Wow! I liked this little statue but not the price! I thought about owning this heavy piece of garden/lawn art. Then I said to my husband, Shawn, "SOMEDAY, I am going to have a statue just like that and I am going to put it in the flower garden and I am going to call the garden the Jason Garden."
My husband walked away and came back with a cart. He struggled to place the heavy object on the cart. I asked him what on earth he was doing and he replied: "Honey, THIS is someday. You are going to have that statue today and you will have the Jason Garden!"
I get tears in my eyes as I think of that moment and of the goodness of this man I married. Shawn is my second husband and he never really had a chance to know Jason. Shawn and I had met when Jason and I moved to a larger city shortly Jason's father left us. Later when I began actually dating Shawn, Jason kept in the background feeling that he would be disloyal to his own father if he allowed a friendship to develop with Shawn.
Jason was a considerate young man. He was an athlete and a scholar. He was tall at 17, close to six feet three inches. He was still blonde and still he ran like he had wings. He was still a runner when he left this earth. That fateful day in July of 1989, Jason was on his way to compete in the Western Canadian finals in Track and Field. Jason was a medal winner in both running and triple jumping. He never got to break his own running record that day in July, instead he returned home to our Heavenly Father. An hour from our home, Jason?s car went out of control and my only son died at the side of the highway.
Now when I am outside I look over to the Jason Garden and I see the little statue of a five year old soccer player. I hear the garden chimes, those same ones Jason used to bump into on our patio, with his tall, athletic frame.
When I look at the statue I smile and remember the many, many hours I sat as a mother and watched my son at this sport. I recall the witty young man he became. I remember his lemonade stand as a nine year old. I can see him holding a golf putter, too big for his little three year old hands. I can see the rose he bought for his girlfriend when he was 16 years old. I can recall Jason?s laughter and the way he lovingly teased his sisters. He once told his his older sister that he actually had to shave his legs to cut down on the wind resistance! He was trying to shock her for he had not really shaved his legs! It worked! As soon as he had her gasping and all agitated, he winked at me and started laughing.
The statue seems to open doorways, these doorways to memories!
I am so glad that my "someday" took place in that Garden Centre! I am happy that Shawn would not let me put off (until "someday") buying the little statue. And though looking at the little statue for too long can cause me to cry, I am so grateful to have the statue as my little memory jogger.
In my life I put off many things. I thought someday I would take Jason to Disney Land, someday we would go on a camping trip together and maybe take some of his fellow athletes along, someday we would spend more time together and I wouldn't work such long hours.
These particular somedays can never take place! And I shall have to be content with the memories I do have. Right now I have to go downstairs and thank Shawn for buying that little soccer player statue and for making someday happen right now. Shawn's act of thoughtfulness, was an act of immeasurable kindness. His goodness has given me such a wonderful gift. It is a gift that continues and continues!
My Jason Garden is a beautiful reminder of the blonde young man who left early and in my mind I can see Jason running.
Please don?t put off your someday plans. Please be motivated by your love of your family to carry through on things today! Send that note to your mother. Phone your child at college. Take the children on that picnic and forget the spring cleaning. Family (people) are your treasures. Don?t put your treasures on a shelf with plans of doing something with them tomorrow. Make your "somedays " happen now.
Post Script
Jason Braun was killed on July 30, 1989. He had just won a scholarship for his academic achievements in grade 11, and that year I received his Athlete of the year Award posthumously. His biggest achievements were the love that he gave so easily to others, the humor that he shared, the forgiving nature that he was blessed with and the thoughtfulness that he demonstrated at such a young age. I treasure every moment we had together...
Ellie Braun-Haley shaley@telusplanet.net
Ellie run two remarkable web sites and has won the 2TheHeart favorite web site award! Visit her sites and send her an email!
http://www.eaglecreek.org/angel
http://www.eaglecreek.org
Jason's memorial: http://www.egogahan.com/Memorials/Jason/Jason.html
________________________________
The Letter Box:
Dear 2theHeart,
I always enjoy reading your daily stories, usually bringing a smile or a tear. But with today's story, Blue Booties by Patricia Uhde, I felt a kinship. You see, my sister is a nurse at a hospital in out home area which was just made a Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She found out that this unit is in need of the little blankets for the little angels, as the one that the 'Aunt' as holding. I crochet mine in various colors and patterns, each made while I say a little prayer that whoever is kept warm by this blanket will soon find happiness wherever our Lord deems they should be. Now I can see with 'other eyes' that my work is useful. Thanks for all of your wonderful stories. Keep up the excellent work!
-Dee, IL
I can't stop crying - I just read "Blue Booties". God bless the
families who lose precious children and God bless the children who struggle so hard to survive!
-Angi Mahnke
2TheHeart,
I just read "BLUE BOOTIES" What a heartbreaking story! I cried as if I were there seeing the young mother suffering the loss of her child. I look at my healthy children, my home cluttered with toys, the food in the Fridge and realize that someway, somehow each story can make me happy & thankful for the blessings in life! Thank you 2theheart for the most blessed site on the web.
-Debra Bartow
