"Ask the young, they know everything!" - Joseph Joubert, Essayist (1754-1824)
17 years ago today, after leaving a visitation service for Sherry Huggins (1945-1993), we had no idea what the next day would bring. We were already in disbelief with the loss of Sherry at the tender age of 48 (she was our Pack Historian for the first year and a half that I was Cubmaster of Pack 247 (complete tenure 1992-1995), and our sons Josh and Donny had just bridged over to Troop 247 on Sept. 24th), and we were not thinking about what was to take place the next day, Jill's due date.
It started early enough with "gas pains" in the middle of the night, and they proceeded to get more frequent as daylight approached. By 10AM, it was obvious that Jordan was on the way, and we drove to Spelman St. Luke's Hospital (the last day that Hospital bore that name - it changed to St. Luke's Northland overnigh when Jill and Jordan spent their first night together in the Hospital). Jordan came along at 2:50PM and weighed in at 7lbs 13oz. We were elated, and unlike Josh's delivery on 7/25/82, we already had a name picked out for him (we thought for sure that Josh would be a girl, and so did the Doctors - yet, no ultrasound was performed).
I think back to those days often, and I think of the challenges that he has faced over the years. I won't go into them, but his life hasn't been easy. Yet, through all of the diagnoses and the battles he has had to overcome, he did earn his Eagle Scout Rank on 9/18/2008, and he is an Honor Roll Student at Oak Park High School, a tremendous and talented photographer, and a vocalist with a gorgeous deep Bass resonance. He has overcome so much; I can't tell you how proud I am of him. Yes, there are days he thinks he knows more than I do, but he is usually brought back to earth during the course of that day.
And now, he is on the verge of being 17 years old. He has so much life ahead of him, but he still has some lofty goals that he wants to reach: 11 Eagle Scout Palms before he turns 18 (he has 7 so far), Chapter Chief of our Order of the Arrow Chapter for a 2nd time (he was the Chief in 2009 and has been a Chapter Officer ever since the day after his Ordeal Induction in 2006), and to earn his way to College (right now it's Simpson College, but Northwest Missouri State is also very appealing - with a Major in Vocal Music Education). But, it is what he has overcome that makes him so special to me, for he could have easily become a statistic, but instead - he decided to make history rather than be consumed by history.
Our son, Jordan Adam Cook (b. 9/30/1993) is a TRUE PATRIOT, and a fine example of what an Eagle Scout SHOULD BE! Son, I love you so much, and I am SO PROUD of YOU!
How about you? Are you proud of your children? If so, let the world know! The world deserves to hear your story about your sons and/or daughters! Jill and I are very fortunate: we have the best two sons you could ever imagine!
Think about it . . .
Yogi: 9/29/2010 10:09PM CDT
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