I was almost 10 years old when he was born, and I've loved him since the first time I held him in my arms. When he was old enough to talk, he called me "Ree Ree" because he couldn't say "Terrie." By the time I was old enough to drive, he harassed the heck out of me ... always wanting to go with me everywhere, begging me to take him for ice cream at the Dairy Delight, hitting me up for an extra large Icee at the Golden Gallon, swiping my Big Chew bubble gum out of the glove box of my car. When he was a teenager, we would sit on the roof of the garage at night and talk for hours about everything under the sun ... or moon, as the case may be.
When he started dating the girl who would eventually became his wife, he would get this goofy look on his face whenever he talked about her and I knew he was falling in love. When he called to tell me they were expecting their first child after nine years of disappointment, we cried happy tears together over the news that he was finally going to be a dad. And those memories are only the tip of the iceberg ... I've loved him since the day he was born, and that bond of love between us is unbreakable.
He's my sister's only son, the youngest of my five nephews, and his name is Charlie. If you've been reading along with me for a while, you may remember him because I write about him from time to time. Charlie is a truly good man ... a man of honor and integrity ... a man who would fight to the death to protect his family, his friends and his freedom ... a man who has a heart that reminds me so much of my dad. He is kind and caring and compassionate, and he has this crazy, infectious laugh that can cause the saddest person in the world to smile. I know that Charlie will always stand beside me ... no matter what the future may hold, I know he'll be there.
I know he'll be there ... the events of this past week have had me thinking a lot about those words ... I know he'll be there ... they've had me pondering how I so often take for granted that those I love will be there. You see, my nephew Charlie was in a freak accident last Monday evening while he was at church helping out with Vacation Bible School. He fell through a rusted steel grate and suffered a very serious injury to his leg. Falling through the metal grate was an accident for sure, but my nephew would tell you really quickly that not one thing that happened following his fall was accidental in any way. The pieces of heavy metal grate that fell in on top of him didn't hit his head or puncture his lungs or pierce his heart or abdomen. He stayed conscious and calm even though he knew he was in shock and that he was in danger of bleeding out from the wound on his leg. There were people on the scene who knew what to do to help him until the paramedics arrived ... people who quite literally saved my nephew's life. Charlie would tell you that God was watching over him and protecting him from the second the grate began to crumble beneath his feet ... and I would wholeheartedly agree with him.
My nephew is home from the hospital this evening, and, in his words, "is doing as well as can be expected." Needless to say, he's in a great deal of pain ... the rusted steel grating pierced his leg just to the right of his shin bone and tore away a significant amount of tissue and muscle. He's had one surgery to remove additional tissue and repair as much as possible, and to have a wound vacuum inserted. He'll have additional surgery in the coming weeks to place skin grafts over the baseball-sized wound, and I'm sure he'll have to endure some painful physical therapy to regain the full use of his leg. As I Skyped with Charlie and his wife and precious little daughter last night, chills ran up my spine as he told me the details of his accident. I managed to hold back my tears while we were chatting, but you can be assured that I cried like a baby after our conversation ended because I knew ... I knew that I could have lost my sweet nephew last Monday night, friends ... had the steel fallen in a different direction, I could have been saying a whole different kind of goodbye.
I know I say it a lot ... I know I say it a whole, whole lot ... but I'm saying it again tonight, and I'll say again and again and again for as long as I breathe. Life is short, and we need to stop taking one another for granted ... I need to stop taking the people I love for granted ... because not a single one of us is guaranteed a tomorrow. We need to remember that what truly matters most in this life is each other. It's not things ... it's not money ... it's not power ... it's not success ... what truly matters most in this life is each other.
In case I haven't told you in a while, you're a good man, Charlie Brown ... you're a good, good man indeed, and I will love you forever. Do what the doctors tell you to do, take it easy and get lots of rest, don't push it and for gosh sake's, don't try to be a tough guy. Take care of you, nephew, and feel better soon. I'm proud of you for the man you are ... the husband, the father, the son, the brother, the nephew ... you're a good man, Charlie Brown ... you truly are a good man indeed. I love you to the moon and back, buddy, and I always will.
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