Fireworks Pt. 2

So he left.

Life will go on. You know it, I know it, even Glenn knows it. But one little boy, who in preschool said the thing he was most grateful for was Lebron James, doesn't.

Andrew's "I'm grateful for..." turkey feather, 2005

"The Decision" was hard to hear. It was announced in the cruelest way. Lebron ripped out the hearts of Clevelanders in front of the entire nation, and didn't show one bit of emotion about it. I could go on and on (and actually have, all last night) about the situation, but as an adult, I've acquired the skills necessary to deal and move on.

The boy? Not so much.

The specific circumstances don't matter. It is very hard to watch your child learn these life lessons. For an eight-year-old, what happened last night was a trial. His emotions ran the gamut. Tears, anger, ripping up of newspapers, taking the MVP and Chosen One posters and Fat Head gift from Uncle Nate (which we hadn't even gotten up on the wall yet!) out of his room.

I let him feel it. I sat there beside him and shed some tears of my own. Not over Lebron--he doesn't deserve it--but over seeing my son so hurt. His dad came in and expressed his sympathy and regret that Andrew is feeling the "curse" at an earlier age, but reminded him that when the championship does come, it will be that much sweeter. We talked about how the ONLY person to be mad at is Lebron and that we will still support our Cleveland teams. We talked about how much fun it will be to root against the Miami Heat. We talked about how we can get more into college sports, that he can learn more about the BYU football team, that Ohio State is supposed to be good this year. And we talked about what is truly important in life, how to deal with trials, how a wise man recently counseled "Never let an earthly circumstance disable you spiritually."  Some big, important lessons learned from a small, insignificant event.

And the morning after?  Andrew's way of dealing with it says it all...

Now, please, can we stop talking about it?