Thank you all for your notes, whether personal or in your blog. Please know that I appreciate each and every one, even if I am unable to respond.
I will leave you with this beautiful piece of poetry written by my godfather (the Orthodox kind, not the other kind). He appears in A Well-Lived Life as Jesse's godfather Vasily, and is a gifted poet and a wonderful man who has known Jeremiah since he was two.
Eternal memory little child of God, who loved puppies but was afraid of the grown version in the flesh. Who played board games with me and your sister and with her made up the rules as you went along, Who one year gave me a birthday card with a childish drawing and the words "I love you Vasily" inside. Who came to the table once and shook your head yes when mom asked if you'd washed your hands but had to return to the sink when she asked, "With soap?" Who grew and became a man who served his country, and made all of us proud. Who loved the wildness of Creation. Who has now passed beyond us into mystery, and begun your long journey into the impenetrable darkness around the Throne of God.
And yet - I take it as a given that we are all immortal diamond, that an inextinguishable ember remains when we have fallen to ash. It's the only way I can make sense out of the absurdity of life. So you live on in our memories and in our tears, and more importantly, in the timeless memory of the One who has created us. We love you - now, and tomorrow, and forever.
Jeremiah Adams, 1994-2018