Josh has been described as “honest”, “goofy”, “kind”, and my favorite, “a good kid”. What made Josh “a good kid”? Our pastor stopped by shortly after Josh died. I’m not sure if this is standard procedure, or not, but I felt compelled to give him stories about Josh and assignments that he had written for school that described, what I termed “the essence of mooseness”. The essence of mooseness is about being a good kid, not so unlike many other good kids around, but maybe with a little twist or two.Josh was not unlike many pre-teens as he frequently had mustard on his shirt (and face) and dirt under his fingernails. Josh was also organizationally challenged. But, he also possessed a sensitivity about others’ feelings and was one of those “wise beyond his years” kind of kids. Josh was intensely concerned with what was “fair” and “unfair”. Josh liked doing things for other people; it was who he was. Josh knew exactly how I liked my coffee, and made it perfectly on many ocassions. Josh had learned about random acts of kindness or RAK’s (as people in the know call them) in school and tried to institute this in our busy family for a time. Josh was also very passionate about soccer. He got that from his dad, and took on his dad’s soccer number, 8, onto his jersey. Josh loved to play the game and watch it. Josh also loved to spend time playing anything from video games to outdoor games with his friends- typical twelve year old boy “stuff”. Josh had a wicked sense of humor, a beaming impish smile, and an awesome laugh. He put his contact information into my phone (technologically challenged that I am) as “Josh is my favorite”. Josh still is “a good kid”. The essence of mooseness lives on in the many RAK’s that people have done since he passed away. Josh’s dad and I both knew very soon after he died that we wanted to do a foundation to help others, in his name. It just came to us, probably from him. He gives us signs from time to time that we are on the right path…a path where I think Josh walks beside us, still sharing the essence of mooseness. |