The Incredibles

A few days ago when I mentioned I was going upstairs to "work on my blog", my hubby joked that I used my blog to "exploit my children."  The fact of the matter is, I certainly don't intend to "exploit" my children - however, I do find that my boys (and any children for that matter) are euphoric.  Their imagination, honesty, sincerity and pure innocence bring me to a happy place where everything else sort of disappears.  So, if you ask me, its fitting that I use my children as a reason to blog because the posts that they help me write make me (and hopefully anyone else who reads them) elated.

I was reminded of a child's innocence and the euphoria they bring this week when my husband and I faced a a difficult time as we mourned the loss of my Uncle Ron.  I don't know that I struggled with bringing Tommy and Luke to celebrate my uncle's life and to say our final good-bye at the funeral home, but I struggled with how to explain that Uncle Ron now walked with God in Heaven.  I have to admit, Paul did much better with this than I did.  I wasn't sure what to say or do.  But together, as a family, we walked to the casket, knelt, folded our hands and we prayed.  Tommy wasn't afraid and didn't ask a lot of questions; he simply told us that Uncle Ron was sleeping.  Paul and I couldn't help but smile at his honesty and his innocence.  His folded little hands and sweet little words were appropriately euphoric.

Tommy loves his Super Heros - from Batman to Spiderman and all the others in between.  Batman isn't perfect in the least.  He comes from a troubled childhood where he lost his parents at a young age.  During his transformation to the amazing Spiderman, Peter Parker was mean and greedy.  Perfect? Not a chance. Though they have their flaws, somehow, these people are still named Super Heros.  With the passing of my uncle, the boys were also able to meet many, many, many relatives and friends and we were all fortunate to reunite as a family.  Again, thanks to my boys, I got to thinking about our family.  Much like the Super Heros that Tommy loves so much, in our family we all have our faults and imperfections; but we see past what we can, help mend what we need to and love each other for who we are.  So is it possible that we are all Super Heros somehow, someway to someone?  I say absolutely - our family - immediate, extended and by marriage is filled with Super Heros with super qualities.  We are THE INCREDIBLES.

The truth is, while it was difficult to face the reality of explaining death to our little boy, it was important for him to be there.  It was important for him to be around the super strength of our family of INCREDIBLES and to feel the love and support that poured out of the funeral home that day.  And just as it was important for our boys to be a part of this reality, it was equally as important for our family and friends to see the boys that day because just for a moment when they saw their faces or caught a smile, they could forget about their sorrow and their grief and feel that complete euphoria that little kids bring!

***May God Bless my INCREDIBLE Uncle Ron Cowoski as he watches over us from Heaven.***  

Uncle Ron with his "INCREDIBLES"