Over the course of time that I write here, you’ll get to know a lot about me and a lot about my boys. Those are my boys, Sam, 3, and Jack (in the stripes) is 6 months old in this picture. It’s my favorite picture of the two of them together, playing in a laundry basket, or as Sam thinks of it, his boat.

There are some things you can tell about a person, even at the youngest of ages, and what I know about Jack is that he loved life. I always envisioned him as the life of the party, the guy everyone loved to be around, who never took himself too seriously. I’ve always said that I knew Jack loved life by his appetite (he ate anything you gave him), his laughter (it was infectious), and his gas. All babies have gas, but Jack could rip ‘em with the best of us.

A big appetite, a hearty laugh, and some bad gas. That’s someone who knew how to live. Jack was that guy.

My little buddy passed away suddenly 41 days ago, leaving the rest of us to mourn his loss and wonder, “Why?”. I know I’ll never get that answer, but when I look at Jack in that picture, I can hear him talking to me, telling his dad that it’s ok to cry, but that everything will be ok. Maybe someday, if I feel like sharing it with the world, I’ll post the video we played at Jack’s wake. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will allow you to know Jack.

Until then, this is all you get… (double click the image below)

I love and miss you buddy.

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• Happy Birthday Jack
• Phil and Teds Classic Double Stroller
• Uncle Vic
• Choices
• 2 Year-Old “Who’s on First”