My Own Personal Superhero

Is it possible to endure five months of (keeping it PG) heck and realize for one sliver of a moment you felt a smile creep across your face?

Yes.

Is it possible to laugh?

Certainly.

I'm not going to lie. This grief thing sucks. This is not the life we imagined, but it's the life we have to live.

And we aren't the only ones left here to live it.

Brotherly Love?

Thank God.

Thank God for Isaac.

Thank God for Tripp.

Thank God for matchbox cars on the floor. Markers on the kitchen table. And messes to clean up every night.

Because I can honestly say I don't know where we'd be without them.

***

Thank you, Santa, for the Spiderman costume.

It's no secret Isaac has a penchant for this raggedy, old Spiderman costume. If you've ever stopped by our house, you know which one I'm talking about (and you know there's a pretty good chance little brother's going to pop out from behind a piece of furniture in nothing but a pair of Batman underwear and pink cowboy boots). So it should come as no surprise that Isaac insisted on wearing Spidey on a bike ride through the park the other night. I know. What kind of parents would allow that? The same ones that let Tripp wear the boots (after we explained why it's necessary to wear clothes in public places).

To passersby Isaac probably looked like a typical 5 year old kid with a runaway imagination - especially since he managed to shoot webs at a few of them. Sorry 'bout that.

But that kid is a superhero in my book.

Because he was able to do the impossible.

Make us smile.

***

This guy makes us smile too.

Boots and a sword.

And so does she.

So glad we got to spend this time together.