We had the gift of two special people Kevin and his mom Donna with us recently for an evening of catching up and reminiscing of years gone by. Kevin (and his two brothers Karl and Kyle) and Derek grew up together and played soccer from elementary school through high school. We talked about how great their teams were, scoring goals, traveling, winning championships and Derek’s unstoppable left foot. Kevin shared a special memory when stationed in the Navy in San Diego and Derek was in the Army at Ft Bragg. Derek flew out there to visit Kevin and to watch his first national soccer game at Qualcomm Stadium, it was USA vs. Guatemala. They watched Landon Donovan score his first goal that night, it was his 50th goal for USA! It was good for my soul to hear Derek’s name swirling around throughout the conversations, remembering how loving, caring, talented and funny he was and seeing Derek living on in their hearts too. Happy 32nd birthday Derek, we love you and miss you terribly. I try hard to keep my chin up and eyes to the sky; it is so damn hard though, especially on days like today. I will cling to all of the wonderful memories of yesterdays and hope tomorrow’s rising sun brings my aching heart comfort and peace. All my love, my soldier son. Mom Please join our D-Rex Defenders team/make a donation in our fight against brain cancer. http://dccc.convio.net/goto/DRexDefenders
