Mighty Fine Shindig

Jayne has finally learned to roll over from his back to his stomach.  And, more frightening, he has begun to do it while he is asleep in his pack and play.  His days of sleeping high up near the edge are over.  He can't crawl, yet, and he hasn't wholeheartedly tried to pull himself up while in his crib, but you can see it in his eyes.  He can rock back and forth, go from hands and knees to sitting and vice versa.  His Aunt Molly showed up, so he is in prime show-off mode.

Today is also our first wedding anniversary.  

One year ago today, after much prepping, cooking, arranging, organizing, cleaning, dressing, rearranging, and a bit haranguing, Shay and I tied the knot.  It wasn't anything fancy or elaborate, just family, friends, and a judge.  All of Shay's brothers from out of state came, my brother flew from Arkansas to be my best man, we had a cute flower girl (Shay's niece) and a determined ring bearer (Shay's nephew).  It wasn't a gala event, there wasn't even a first dance, but it was a wonderful ceremony with a lovely bride.  The two families joined into one laughed and ate and had a generally good time together, celebrating Shay's name change and my having married my best friend.  We became companions, traveling through time and space, and all we needed was a blue telephone booth.

And six months later, Jayne came barreling into our lives.  It was surreal, as I'm sure it is for every new parent, holding the result of a combination of your genetics mixed with another.  It does give you a perspective on life that you never considered before, at least for most of us.  Here, in my hands, I held the continuation of myself.  Long after I was burned up in a row boat on a lake somewhere, in traditional Viking style, this tiny boy would be able to pass along my unique combination of star stuff, personality, and imparted values to new generations, maybe even going as far as impacting the world on a large scale.  

None of that really changed with his illness.  I'm fully invested in his recovery and not without reason.  One of the most encouraging thing that we have been a party to is the amount of people who have been very selfless for Jayne's sake.  Everyone has been asking about how they can give, how they can help, what they can do.  And not all of these people offering their help are people that Shay and I personally know.  

We just got word from Cherla, Aunt Extraordinaire, that her cross fit gym, Gila Valley CrossFit, are having an event in honor of Jayne.  It involves lots of sweating, lifting, and... crossing.  I have to admit, not entirely sure what cross fit entails other than waking up early and jumping fairly high in the air.  They are also having an auction which is being helped by the gracious offer of one of the members of the gym.  Well, it was facilitated by one of the members of the gym, it's actually her son who is doing something fairly awesome for our little guy.  I was unfamiliar with him, because I don't follow UFC at all, but Justin Gaethje, after hearing about our plight, decided that he would donate his gloves from his last fight to be auctioned off.  Just the fact that he is willing to do that much to help out our son is fantastic and I would like to extend my thanks to him, personally, for wanting to help my little fighter out.  Words cannot express how much it means to my wife and me for him to do this, for the gym to hold the event, and for everyone else involved.  It's nice to be reassured that, in this crazy, crazy world, there are decent people who aren't the focus of television cameras, tv personalities, or 'experts'.  There is a world that isn't represented accurately on news networks, one that I, as a big believer in humanity, am glad to see time and time again.  

There may not be more love than hate out in the world, but the acts of love that people display and act upon have a much bigger impact, both on the individuals and everyone connected within that social web.  People helping people, supporting the weak, the sick, the unfortunate, that's the side of humanity that gets civilization through the ages.  So, I thank you, tiny balls of atoms in this vast, expanding universe, for everything you have done, not just for me and mine, but to exemplify the human spirit of compassion and love.  Keep on keeping, I hold a lighter aloft for an encore.