Wordless Wednesday - Calvin's Spirit of the Eagle

More to come later

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Birthday Calvin!

Calvin, our Grandson

It is becoming a tradition to honor Calvin on the anniversary of his death as a reminder of what a great young man he was. There was so much we did not know about him until people came forth and told us. Even now his parents  occasionally discover someone else who was touched by him. He had a zest for life and a love of people.

We are honoring him with photos. JoAnn and I have gone through and selected way too many photos, so we reduced the number and have shared them between our blogs.

Calvin took his first trip with Grandma and Grandpa to Boise, ID when he was
about 2 years old. Here he is with Suzanne.

The boys, just off the airplane in the Indianapolis airport at the Indy 500 Exhibit.

Calvin, Clayton & Cole on a "Giant Beetle" at
the St. Louis Zoo

Calvin, Clayton & Chris climbing a practice wall
in Terre Haute, IN

Calvin on a tank at the Fort Knox Armor Museum
in Kentucky

At the end of the day we can look back and see how special and how blessed we were to have this young man with us for a short period of time. Rarely a day goes by without me thinking of Calvin and how special it was for us to share time with us. We are thankful for all of the memories, the photos, and love that all have exhibited to Calvin and his family.

Celebration of Life Monument

In today's blog by Donna she announced that this weekend the "Utah Donate to Life Coalition" is dedicating their "Celebration of Life Monument" to the living and dead who have donated organs. Their names will be on the monument. Calvin was one of those. Donna, Chris, and the boys are going to the dedication. Those of us who are family and many of our close friends know Calvin, whether they knew him or not, and how he impacted all of our lives. As Donna says, he continues to impact our lives and others, even today. We were all grateful for the 13 years we had with him. Not a day goes by that I don't think of Calvin or look at his photo somewhere in our home (there are several around) or in my office. The one below is a favorite.

Yesterday…

JoAnn and I were in Spanish Fork yesterday on the anniversary of Calvin's death. (note: I started this on the 16th, but since we were in Boise at the time I had to put it aside for family matters.) I had meetings in Salt Lake City and came back mid-afternoon to find everyone gone. They were off looking for a miniature tree for Calvin's gravesite. The sexton apparently approves trees up to 6 feet mature height.

Around 6:00 pm or so we all went over the the cemetery to plant the tree. We found a couple of other families there and by the time we left at 8 pm there were six families visiting Calvin. Plus there was evidence of a number of other people who had been present at some time during the day. I am still amazed a the outpouring of caring and remembering for Calvin. These six families all showed up spontaneously, just to spend some time with Calvin and remembering him.

On Facebook a young man from Calvin's middle school posted the tribute he was going to read the following morning as an announcement. There were a number of responses to the post and it was touching.

Below are a couple of additional photos I shot. Donna took her camera so hopefully she will post some photos on her blog.

Cole is making sure the hole is the correct size and depth. He wanted to be involved in the whole process.

Traveling to Boise

Calvin was maybe 3.5 when Donna suggested we take him to Idaho with us. We were traveling from Indiana with Krissie, who was 14, and thought it would be a great idea. We picked Calvin up in Utah and headed out. Krissie was really excited about taking Calvin with us. After we left Spanish Fork and headed up to Boise the two of them in the back seat were in a constant chat. Even then Calvin could dominate a discussion.

This was real treat. Suzanne had only been married for 2 years of less and had no children, so Calvin was king of the roost! The first night we were in Boise we went out for Mexican. Calvin was at the end of the table in a booster seat and the rest of us were all busy talking. The waitress comes up with our obligatory basket of chips, Calvin takes one look, and at the top of his lungs, "Whoa - CHIPS!" We all laughed so hard. He was so excited about food - always pretty much - but that excitement was new to us.

When a couple of daughters and mom, of a couple of daughters without mom, get together shopping is on the menu. A couple of days later we were out shopping for school clothes for Krissie at Target. After selecting a few items, Mom and Krissie headed to the changing area. I picked Calvin up, tossed him over my shoulder and he was a little high - his waist was at my shoulder - and as we walked out of the teens section with us going one way and JoAnn & Krissie another I hear, again at the top of his lungs, "Krissie's getting naked!" I'm red and he is laughing and I'm wondering what Donna is teaching my grandson. Not that I didn't think it wasn't cute, because it was.