Sean.

He had ridiculously blonde hair and laughing blue eyes. He gave amazing hugs. He was fired from his first job at Subway for being too small…. but even afterwards, he continued to wear that dirty and tattered forest green subway polo shirt EVERY…DAY. His dream job was owning his own In-n-Out Burger restaurant… and worked hard to get there starting from the bottom up. Whenever I go to In-n-Out… I call it “In-n-Oooot” in my head because of him…. and I laugh thinking about how his idea of a well balanced meal was a hamburger WITH the vegetables on it. There were years full of late night swims at Katie’s house, Cranium parties at Laurie’s house, Summer Camps, Mexico Mission trips, Del Taco runs, Switchfoot concerts, Sunday Lunches at the Crossroads… and even the times we all just hung out just to be together… nothing planned… just spur of the moment adventures.

One time he decided it would be a fun idea to jump from Laurie’s trampoline… over the fence… to the green belt. He broke his arm trying. We have it on video and we still laugh every time because it’s THAT funny. The earliest picture I have of him is at Indian Village summer camp when I was in 4th grade with his same crazy smile….

Sean grew up living one culdesac over from me…. my life’s been painted brighter by his  presence and friendship… and sometimes when I see a white truck like his beat up old one, I still think it’s him. It’s been crazy watching his Facebook page fill up with notes from grieving friends and family sharing their favorite stories and pictures of how he graced their lives and made them better people.

It doesn’t seem like he’s gone… but maybe that’s because he left such huge marks on so many people’s lives… it’s almost as if he’s still here. I wish it wasn’t so, but thank you for helping form who I am today, Sean. You taught me how to see the world from a different angle… a more light-hearted and amusing one. You taught me how to be a better friend…. and you taught me the value of laughter. I’m not the same.

Love,

Kate