This type of self sacrifice comes from the grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit. I see them being faithful to their wives, going to church with their families every Sunday and trying to be good examples for their sons and daughters. I watch them work hard, grinding away, and then spend their precious leisure time going to their kids’ soccer and baseball games. “Lawrence, you’re forgetting all those other years when you were my precious little boy. “Dad, can you ever forgive me for the hell I put you through as a teenager,” Lawrence tells me again and again, now proclaiming me to be the best dad ever. His minimalist comic strips range from reviewing and capturing the essence and problems of the most popular video games to touching upon serious global topics such as mental. Despite all the fights, thank the Lord, we never burned the bridge. Estonian visual artist Mart Virkus lets out his frustrations about video games, pop culture, and everyday life in a form of nerdy and witty comics called Arcade Rage. Much to my disbelief, Lawrence did indeed mature. He makes good money doing the very thing he got in trouble for in high school. Ironically, Lawrence, the ultimate promoter now makes thousands of dollars staging music events and festivals in Austin. One neighbor irately told me, “These parties have been going on for years.” My reply. Ginny and I would go out of town and Lawrence would have a blowout party, which did not please my neighbors or the police.
This became our routine for years and years. So to put him to bed, I would snuggle up next to him, massage his back and tell him a Davy Crockett story until he drifted off to sleep. He would itch so much he couldn’t get to sleep. When he got out of the swimming pool, he immediately turned into a swollen red lobster.
Several times a day we had to lather him down with expensive prescription skin creams. He was cuter than all the other little red head boys in the commercials. My mother-in-law Dottie tried her best to get little Lawrence a commercial gig on TV. My precious little Lawrence is gone forever and will never come back. Yes, for me, and most people, thank God, they are still alive as adults, but that precious little child is gone forever and we never really get to grieve over that loss.
We never get to grieve for the loss of our precious little children. He was a sweet little soul and I loved him so dearly.Īfter my children grew up, I noticed something remarkable that nobody ever talks about or acknowledges. Curly copper hair, an exuberant personality, a smile as big as the Mississippi River. Lawrence was the cutest little boy you could possibly imagine.