Sometimes, life can hit you with a sucker punch right out of the blue. You never saw it coming because you never looked for that particular punch. We experienced that kind of sudden, nasty punch early Sunday evening. It’s not Linda or me; it’s not Kenda or Steve. That the Lord for that. But, that’s part of why we never saw it coming. As many of you know, Kenda is adopted and a close family friend and parent of one of Linda’s students was available to become our daycare provider when Kenda suddenly arrived unannounced from Korea. She’d recently had another child of her own. Kenda and Kjell (the other child) grew up together under his mother’s watchful eye. The adventures and misadventures of Kenda and Kjell were part of our daily routine. They attended the same elementary school, junior high, and high school. They even did their 9th Grade CapStone Project together, with the aid of Johann Onnick. Wnen it came time for college, Kjell accepted a scholarship from the US Army and attended Ripon College, then served out his obligator duty as an officer of the US Army, most of it in Alaska. Kenda stayed home and used her money to buy a car and go to Shoreline Community College and then UW Bothell. When Kjell’s hitch in the Army was done, he sent his stuff home and rode his bicycle down the AlCan Highway to Seattle and then on to California. Why? Because that was pure Kjell. He loved to skydive and hang glide. And I’m sure there were other devices he “flew” , but about which I have little or no knowledge. I’m so scared of heights, I hate ladders; so I never could relate to his love of adrenalin sports that involved running off of mountain cliffs or jumping out of perfectly good airplanes. But, you see, that too was pure Kjell. And Sunday morning, his love of those sports led to his death at 32 years of age. A passion for life, an incredibly bright mind, and a future so full of potential… gone in an instant. We feel all of the various emotions. Denial. Heartbreak. Rage. Loss. We know we are not alone in those feelings. It goes without saying that, from today on, our lives will never be the same because of that loss. We will miss him, Oh So Very Much! Hug your loved ones today. Tell them you love them. You never know what tomorrow may bring.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 05:49:30 +0000
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