what a smile can teach us

For the past twenty-five years I have been a volunteer for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and their summer camps in the Nashville area.  This weekend many of us gathered for what is all too common, the death of one of our kids.  Jamie Durham, a fantastic kid, died the day before Valentines Day.  While the loss of any of our campers is hard, this one was especially for me.  You see, I took care of Jamie for eight years at camp as my camper.  i remember his first year at camp.  He was young enough then to have a female counselor but the next year he was to move up and have a male counselor.  After having so much fun with him his first year, I simply had to have him as my kid from then on.  We always had a ball riding jet skis, fishing, and chasing women (not necessarily in that order either).

The common theme this weekend at the visitation and funeral was Jamie’s smile.  Even when he was down a little, he had some form of smile on his face.  Someone at the service said that Jamie lived a simple life, taking everything at face value.  He never over-analyzed anything and simply enjoyed each moment. They were right on in saying that.  He never moped about not being able to walk or other things.  He’d rather talk about going to Hooters or riding with his brother thru the mud in some 4WD hot rod or something.  

Maybe Jamie was put here for twenty-three years only to teach us a few things about our own lives.  Live life.  Have Fun.  Smile More.  And yes, go to Hooters once in a while!