Today is Julian’s 14th Angelversary. A week from now would have been his 18th birthday, and just a few days after that is his brother’s 21st birthday. This would have been a big milestone year for our household.
Our older son Oscar was just turning seven when his brother died. He always loved sports and video games, and could turn almost anything into a competition. He and Julian had shared a bedroom, so it took a little time for Oscar to get used to sleeping alone.
One night I was tucking him in and checking in with him about how he was doing without his brother. I always tried to keep my expectations low as far as communication went, considering I was talking to a seven-year-old boy, but this night his answer was more wise than most adults. He said:
“I think life is like a video game. We get lots of chances to pass a level, and then when we do, we Level Up. Julian just up-leveled before we did. We’ll see him again.”
Today, that feels exactly right. I agree with Oscar’s point of view. Life is indeed like a video game. We face challenges, we stumble, we celebrate, we gain and lose points as we go. There are many ways to pass each level. And when we do, we bring our knowledge and other resources with us as we ascend to the next Level.
Julian isn’t gone, he just upleveled faster than us. We WILL see him again.
creating “new normal” 