Shine on

Life, it is a gift that not all of us cherish, and few protect. It takes a special person to fight for what is right and for those they love. Because life is a journey. And there’s no shortage of off-road terrain on the way to being a defender of your family, of your community. It’s a labyrinth in the dark with no GPS signal. One where all of your fears fight you on one accord in almost perfect synchronization. You feel as though each obstacle that comes your way tears you down. But they painstakingly make you the best of us. Eventually you, without noticing, take your greatest setbacks and forge them into your greatest weapons. And all of a sudden you start to see little bursts of light to walk toward. And you take whoever is within reach by the hand and lead the way through the maze. You are a hero.

The role of a hero is always changing. Heroes look different depending on the perspective of who is looking. All heroes aren’t the savior of every day. But with the lens with which I choose to see, in this moment, you are of the most courageous.

When we were small you were teased for your fear of loud noises. Any siren or vacuum that went by made you cower. I can still feel my eyes roll to the back of my head when you’d run to my mom at clean up time. And now as I reminisce, I can’t contain my tears thinking of how you not only now run towards those sirens, but into fires.

At the age of 15, you became a junior firefighter. You learned the ins and outs of the firehouse. You studied extensively the innumerable ways to save a life. Years later you became a full member of the department and took an oath to protect your community. Many of us only have one calling. However, you answered yet another call to serve during your time as a young firefighter. You joined the Emergency Medical Services. Your passion for holding up your neighbors known and unknown is far beyond contagious. It’s at a level that most only dream of and admire. You hold the hands of those in their most precious low moments. You carry the cares of those around you so they can heal. You even try to prevent the worst from happening, although you’ll be there if it stills does. Even when you were little, you’d attempt to catch people before they fell by writing cute signs that said “be precaution”. There has never been a time that you didn’t put others before yourself. You give what most would consider more than you have and leave them awestruck when you give even more. And as times change, you never stay the same. As problems arise, you find solutions. You are mister “fix it”. You are the person whose face doesn’t go unnoticed. And in turn, you see those who see you. You put your life’s biggest challenges on your chest for all to watch you bare. And you turn them into your biggest strengths.

You are the person we call in the middle of the night. You are always there. You are not a saint and you do not claim to be faultless. You are unapologetically who you are. And I thank you for walking with purposeful and determined strides in the light’s footsteps.

You are the person your son will strive to be better than. He will hear stories of how his dad sat for hours after school to finish what others would call “simple” homework. He will know that his dad’s sincere smile has grabbed the hearts of those in need and made them beat again. He’ll know that when his dad finds sleep in an extra-large cup of black coffee that he does it it so others can find it behind closed eyes. His dad is the most inappropriately honest man that he’ll ever know. And he is filled with so much love that it overflows. His father encourages others to find fires burning within themselves and become heroes in their own right. He will never be more than a simple man in his own words. And he’ll continue to sling back a good ole Jack and coke. He will sing country music louder than can be tolerated. He’ll drive his truck in the middle of your grass. But he’ll also be the first responder to his son’s every call. He is a father, uncle, brother, son, grandson, nephew, cousin, and a friend. Thank you. Thank you for all that you’ve been, for who you are, and who you have yet to become. Greatness is destined for you.