Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the day I started blogging. That first day was Nov 25th, 2006, 3 days after Sam’s organ donation. Today I can’t even imagine how I had the strength to sit down and write. I’m just so glad that I did.   And I’ve  not missed a day of writing  for the last 731 days (this is a leap year).. No matter what I was doing.. or where I was,(10 countries, deserts, oceans, forests) I took the time to write..  That’s given me   a record of the most difficult thing a father can survive. In the last 2 years Myspace tells me that folks have read this blog 171,294 times… that’s still about 170 -200 folks every day at this point… which is just amazing…. and gratifying. to me…. As I look back over these two years this blog has been a lifesaver to me.. in the most literal way.. somehow writing stuff down became a purpose for me in those early days when I had nothing else to keep me going..  Sometimes I wrote  out of self pity… sometimes it was to share something cool… sometimes.. I had little to say. but.. I just made the time.  I started to do it just for myself…. then I started doing it for family and friends…. Now.. I’m not really sure why I keep doing it..  but I do…  It’s amazing to be able to look back at any day in the last 2 years and figure out what was going on in my life.. Here’s my first entry.. 2 years ago  today.

My beautiful son Sam

Friends,
    Our beutiful son Sam died this Monday while having the time of his life with friends in Florida. . Our feelign of loss is overwhelming.. but so is the feelign of love that we’re getting from our community and family.. Sam was such a special person.  He packed so much living into his fourteen years. He was one of my best friends. Like many people, I  wanted to be more like Sam as I grew up.  He was one of the most honest, true and real people I’ve ever met. He was so passionate about everything he did… his music… his snowboarding.. his sports.. his friends.. his family. I can still feel his strong arms hugging me as he did every day when I came home from work.  Sam is not goign to be around to hug me now.. but I promise to keep his memory alive and pass on his wonderful spirit. All of you reading this blog could do us a big, big favor by doing the same. Pass on the Sam… love your families, love your friends, be true to yourself and be passionate about what you do. The more Sam we pass around.. the better our world is going to be.
   I’m going to do my best to keep blogging for the first year after Sam’s death as a way of working through things.   Our lives are forever changed by losing Sam.. but they are forever brightened by knowing him as only parents can. Remember  Pass on the Sam
Love -John

man, I can’t read that now without crying….. But it’s so good to see through this blog how we’ve managed to keep on living, growing and having fun..
One thing I hope to do through this blog is to give folks reassurance that we’re doing ok.. and that they too can get through whatever the world hands them….

One thing I do want to do on this 2nd anniversary is to remind folks about the importance of organ donation. Our good friend Gary sent me a pointer to a piece that ran on the NPR program ‘The Story’ few days ago. It describes the parallel story between a a family who has to make the choice of donating their child’s heart after a terrible traffic accident.. and the story of the recipient’s family.. I’ve been listening to it for the last half hour and Im all out of tears.. it’s a beautiful and gut wrenching story .. similar to.. but differnt than our own. You can listen to it here…

OK .. I need to go cook dinner.. we have a ton of kids in the house right now.. Thans to all of you who keep reading.. you have no idea how much you’ve helped me…

I love you all. I love you Sam… I’m so glad that I’ve written this about you….
-me