Chris' nephew, Kyle, passed away on Tuesday at the tender age of 19.
Admittedly, most of the pictures I have been able to scrounge up are several years old.
There is a box still packed away somewhere with tons of pictures. I hope to find that soon so I can share them with Kyle's parents.
Kyle was a bit of a clown. Liked to make people laugh. He also loved the Redskins and I remember him talking several times about playing professional football when he grew up. The more I think about it, I can honestly say that he always seemed to be trying to get people to smile, even if he was being a trouble maker in the process. Even if someone was ragging on him about something personal(*cough* wearing his pants down low*coughcough*)he took it in stride and tried to turn it into something funny.
Kyle also has an older brother, Teddy, and a younger sister, Hannah, as well as step and half siblings from both parents. It really seems that they all felt like one big family - regardless of parentage. For a couple of the Christmas or New Years celebrations at Chris' parents house they would bring their step sister along and Kyle spent a great deal of time with Sophia (the baby above) in the last couple years. I am happy that they all have those relationships and all got to spend the time with Kyle that they did.
This is, by far, our favorite picture of the three of them (admittedly, it is almost always "TeddyKyleandHannah" - you can't just refer to one without thinking of the other two). We've got it in a frame with other family photos. I need to find a good place to hang them in this new house. Hard to believe that was 11 years ago. Wow. I just looked closer at the date. Almost 11 years, to the day, before his death.
Chris loves all his nephews and nieces immensely. He has lots of fond memories with these guys. Sadly, as often happens, as he got older he didn't see them nearly as much. Of course, as several of us are familiar with, this is also a common thing when marriages end and new ones begin. That doesn't mean he didn't think of them and champion for them just as much as he would any of his other nephews or nieces.
One of my first real memories of "TeddyKyleandHannah" was when I went to Chris' parent's house for Thanksgiving when we were dating. His brother was there with the kids. We all went for a walk through the "woods" with the kids before dinner. I really enjoyed that.
Chris and I also met up with them at a cabin, Herrington Manor I believe, at Deep Creek Lake one winter for some fun in the snow. We did lots of sledding. I have some fun pictures of Chris riding with Kyle on a hay bale, catching air on a bump.
Eventually, we mainly only saw them on Holidays. Thankfully, we did see Kyle for the Holidays before our move out to Idaho. He seemed to have been having a rough patch the last of couple years. We still hoped for the best for him. It appears that, ultimately, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, an enlarged heart and pneumonia played a role in his death. At 19. A reminder that tomorrow isn't promised. I have been hugging and kissing and playing with the kids a bit more this week.
Today, Kyle is being laid to rest. Chris was able to do a quick trip out to attend the wake yesterday. He got back midday today. His work was awesome and he was able to get time off and we've now pretty much used all our airline miles for the year, but that is what they are there for. I was unable to make the trip out with the kids but look forward to getting together with everyone when I am out there in a couple weeks.
Little Lady drew two pictures for Chris to deliver to Kyle. The other day, when I was explaining to her that Papa was going to be gone a couple days she said,"Kyle is in the sky. He is with me. He can protect me from bears." So, Kyle is now officially on bear duty.
Rest in Peace, Kyle. Our prayers are with you and your family. Tody and Heather, I can't imagine the pain you are going through and hope that you find faith and comfort during this difficult time. Know that we will keep his memory alive for our children.
Please say a prayer in memoriam. Thank you.
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