If
you will bear with me I thought that giving you a bit of background of the main
players in getting the foundation started would help:
Me: Mom;
I was blessed by God to have Sean guide me through life for 34 years. He was my hero and my rock. He showed me what true faith in God was, what
true strength in overcoming obstacles was and he made me a better person. He was my reason for living and was the
greatest gift any Mom could have - Thank You God for the gift of being Sean's Mom. I love him more than I have ever loved anyone even today; 3 years after his passing. That is why this foundation is so important to me, to continue Sean's legacy.
Bill: Dad;
Bill came into our lives when Sean was 13 years old. His first meeting gave him a reason to run the other way. Bill was coming over for dinner and I was fighting with Sean to get his clothes on as I am trying to cook dinner and he was SO excited that he couldn't stay focused (I know that is hard to believe - right?) Bill knocked at the door and all of a sudden I saw Sean out of the corner of my eye run across the room and throw open the door and jump into his arms with a big Seaner hug....wearing nothing by his underwear!!! Even THAT didn't deter the two from becoming fast friends and Seaner loving him "to the moon and back". He was the best thing that could happen to us
and blessed that he took us both on as family.
My favorite memory was when someone called Bill his father and Sean got
quite upset and said NO – My Bill is NOT my father he is MY DAD and that is a
whole lot better than a father, Bill makes time for me. Sean was SO proud to introduce "My Dad, the fireman" to his friends and loved that Bill wanted to be a part of every aspect of his life AND that he talked Mom out of punishing him sometime.
Jacob: Brother Jacob is what Sean called him. He was Sean’s “best friend in the whole wide world” that he met at LivingWaters Fellowship. Jacob became his “Little Brother” (even though he was 12” taller than Sean) because when I told Jacob the story that Sean always wanted a brother and how he asked for a baby brother every birthday and Christmas, but it wasn’t in God’s plan for me. So on Sean’s 32nd Birthday Jacob came to Seaner’s birthday party with a bow on his head and a sign on his chest – Happy Birthday Sean I am your new little brother! On the way home Seaner was so excited by the party but when I asked him his favorite present he said “Mom, I got my heart’s desire! I got a little brother” this is the bestest birthday ever! From that point forward Jacob had Sean’s unending love and devotion.
Kara: Miss
Kara came into Sean’s life 10 years ago when I started working with her and explained
to her that you didn’t “meet” Sean you “experienced” him. She couldn’t wait to meet him and when they
met; Sean was completely smitten and they were friends from the moment they
met. When he found out that Kara was
getting married he kept asking for “a flower” to wear at the wedding and Kara
graciously let him have a flower and he was even part of the wedding party by
being “in charge of smiles”. Seaner loved her so much he even proposed
marriage right before she was ready to walk down the aisle – and in true Kara form she smiled, she let him down gently and he walked away a happy boy and Kara knew that
she had the love of Sean for the rest of his life and after.
Josh: Joshdawg
is the preaching minister at Sean’s Church, LivingWaters Fellowship, yes in
Seaner’s world it was “his church”. Josh
has created an inclusive and accepting environment at his church and he made
certain that Sean was an integral part of church. Bill and I went to this church a few times
before we had Sean attend and after the first time he attended LivingWaters he
looked at me and said I want to keep coming here; when I asked him why he
looked at me with those beautiful HUGE eyes of his and said “Mom, can’t you
feel it? God’s Here! and Josh likes me
and my friend Mark comes here”. How can
a mom say no to that?
Maria: Auntie Maria was Seaner’s second
“mom”; a true friend since we came into Bill’s life. Auntie Maria and her family have always been there to
help when we needed it; she helped me when Sean was in the hospital and
even took on a lab tech because they tried to keep me out of the room when they
were going to run tests on Sean (one of my most treasured memories). She was the one person that Seaner “wouldn’t
share” with ANYONE! When we would go out
to dinner together I couldn’t even sit beside her – his preference was the wall
was on one side of her and he was on the other so he could have her “undivided”
attention. If someone had to sit on the
other side of her – it had to be her husband. J I was relegated to only sitting across the
table from her. He would always say
“Auntie Maria is my most favoritist person in the whole wide world”. And why not - She would take him to the Best Buy in Ames because "it was better than the ones in Des Moines"! He loved her more than anyone can imagine and I didn't love her the same I might have been jealous.
