Sunday, November 23, 2008

To Nicholas



In Michigan, these days, doom is inescapable. Pick your cliche: Rolling fog, tidal wave, ship careening toward the rocks, plague or pox, despair has become an entity, an awakened Golem on the march to wipe away life as we've known it.

The Big Three is dying. Deputies taped foreclosure notices to the house two doors down. The value of our home has crashed. Friends have lost their jobs. I haven't opened a 401k statement in months.

We do well if we only worry about the economy and discuss our fears -- and options, such as they are -- once a day. We rarely succeed. I tell myself it's an abstraction, numbers on a page, nothing more than worry.

And sometimes, like yesterday, I'm reminded that's all it is.

A little boy we never met named Nicholas died. He was 4. He has CdLS. His parents thought he had a cold. They put him to bed. He didn't wake up. Mo found out through a Yahoo discussion group about the syndrome.

She was crying when I got home.

"I don't care if our house is worth nothing," she said. "I don't care if we lose our jobs. I just don't ever want to lose Hope."

The night Will died, we held him and made certain promises. Chief among them: We would never forget what's really important. We've tried. We haven't always done as well as we could. Sometimes we need a reminder.

So thank you, Nicholas. Rest in peace. Our deepest sympathies.

9 comments:

Misty said...

thank you for your words about Nicholas. we too have had heavy hearts and tears here for the precious little boy we knew only through photos and video. his loss is so close to home and does make us refocus on what is important... and there is NOTHING more precious than our children.

beth said...

Beautifully written, Joel. I'm going to hug the kids a little tighter when they get home today.

P.S. Very funny video.

heidi @ ggip said...

I also was very saddened to hear of the loss of Nicholas. Yes, it's hard to keep our priorities right. Thank you for the reminder.

Megan said...

Thank you for the lovely post. Little Nicholas will forever hold a place in all of our hearts!

Anonymous said...

I love the caring that's so evident from the many readers of this blog. CdLS parents and their friends and family are truly special.

Love to all from Maine --
Grandma K.

Rachelle said...

Very beautiful words for little Nicholas. We too are saddened to hear of his sudden passing. Thank you for helping me appreciate the little things a lot more today.

P.S. Great video!

Deni aka Mrs Chicken said...

I was online when the email about Nicholas came through. I haven't been on the yahoo group long, and was a bit of a mess when I read it. It scares me so much, I worry so deeply for our Tae. But you do all you can, take care of them and hold them so closely, but treasure and enjoy all the moments together.

Anonymous said...

Well, ole Hopesy makes those Presidential candidates into real yawners; thanks for the great laughs -- and a renewed perspective on what's really important.

Anonymous said...

my heart hurts whenever I read something like this as I'm sure everybody whose heart has been touched by the loss of a little one can relate and even if one has not lost a little one has fear that they could so yes we hug and hug and give many kisses,say many prayers.Make the most of our time with anybody we love sooo much.