I was there. Aaron's family were there. Everyone that could stay, did. We prayed day and night. I prayed his parents would be able to make the right decision at the right time. They did.
Each year our family (whoever is able) gathers on the date he died. The first year we released helium balloons with our messages written on them. They were purple and bright green - Aaron's favorite colors. The last few years we've lit paper lanterns and watched them float up into the night sky until we can't see them anymore. It's a tradition - it helps our grief.
This is the fifth year without Aaron. I've done something each year at my house to commemorate his anniversary. This year I put five white pebbles onto a piece of red rock from Sedona, AZ in my little tomato plant garden. It seemed okay and I was very conscious when one of the pebbles fell off. I'd put it right back.
For the last month or so I've been wanting to do something more to remember him by. Something that would have meaning to my spirit and a little spark of his spirit joined together. And that's when I thought of it! Spray painting my hubcaps his favorite colors. That would be SO Aaron.
This is what I did:
I was so jazzed that these hubcaps looked so snappy. Even my neighbors were stopping by to see what I was doing. Each one heard Aaron's story, the choice of colors and they walked away a little moved in their countenance. I was proud as a peacock for the idea of alternating the colors of the hubcap screws. It turned out better than I ever could have imagined!And then this happened. I had to drive to the gas station so that my lawn mower (thanks, Mom!) wouldn't run out of gas. I began to drive to my usual station. On the way there were four teenagers, freshmen in high school is my best guess. They were walking the opposite direction I was headed in but one of them was walking on the edge of the street. I slowed down a bit and then I thought I heard, "Hey you f'er...." I immediately looked in my rear view mirror and it was the kid in the white shirt looking back at me and still moving his mouth.
I don't tolerate this behavior from anyone. I don't care who you are or whether or not I know you. You better believe I now think you've opened the door for a conversation. I turned my car around and as God would have it, they had to stop walking at the street I had to turn onto to have a talk with this young man.
I pulled up (yes, on the wrong side of the side street) and they did not know this until I stopped. I asked, "Do you have a question you wanted to ask me?" All of them said, "No," so I said, "White shirt? As I drove by a few minutes ago you yelled something at me and I thought I heard the "f" word." He immediately backed down and denied it. So, I apologized and continued. "What were yelling at me?" "Nothing." I said, "It's okay - what were you yelling." Then most of them asked about the colors of my hubcaps. I asked them if they really wanted to know about their colors. I could tell they weren't sure what I was going to say or if they should say anything so I said, "Hey, I'm not a jerk. Do you really want to know? Because if so, I'll tell you."
They said, "Yes." I told them my nephew Aaron died from huffing propane and those are his favorite colors." They said, "Wow" or "That's cool." I closed the conversation by looking at white shirt and apologizing again for thinking he used the "f" word (and it's really not important whether he did or not) and then said, "Okay guys - have a great night!" Then I drove away....choked up.
I pray I said the right things, that they walked away with a reason not to huff or use any drugs and that they'll remember or even retell the story about the lady with the green and purple hubcaps.
