These are just THINGS, but they pull at my heart while making me smile.
Someone else could just see these and think,"thats just STUFF"
But to me they are all that I have and what I hang on to when I miss him so much
I just can't stand it.
The Helmet that was given to him by pilots from the AFB, which he desperately wanted to try on over his puffy, swollen bald head. Plus the hat that he wore till it was almost rags.
The poster to remember his trip to the golden spike with his Grandparents, his necklace from Hawaii, his dogtags he wore and a flag from a spray from his funeral.
Band pictures that were framed by the Band Parents and signed by the kids, with his MC band hat that he loved to wear.
Oh how he loved his hats. The Arizona hat was one of his cherished ones, and hardly took it off for anything and it shows.
The Patriot Wall; a plaque with a photo of him sitting in an F-16, his flag, and his last suvenior; the poster of the USS ARIZONA from Hawaii
The bookshelf he built with his own hands the last semester of school he could attend, which holds the many books on aviation and his religious books he was studying for his mission.
The monkey he got from a crane machine and a picture of all of us from a while ago.
The movies that he loved (notice the History of Aviation and Planet Earth)
The very few sport pictures of him, the star from Make a Wish, Hot wheels that he collected, his phone case and his good luck Tiki from Hawaii.
The box he made, scout badges, the classical CD's that I still can't listen to, his Marine Corps Stickers, the pilot rubber duck that Aaron bought for him (he had a collection of rubber duckies too), and a book with his pictures from his trip alone to NY to see his Grand-Pop and Ali.
The model planes that he couldn't finish. He insisted he couldn't leave until he finished them.
The bed where he slept, where his brothers play, nap, watch movies and hang out. It's where I go to feel at peace, remember and feel him close around me.
Some may think I am not quite right because I leave his THINGS where he left them. To me and my boys it's where they have always belonged. We can't put away our love for him or pretend he was never here, so we keep his THINGS where we can see them. They have become a part of us now, just like he were here.
