Jonathon was the first boy who ever loved me, my first real kiss, and in a lot of ways my first real friend. He knew everything about me, things that I did not share with even my closest of friends. And now he is gone.
I wish I could say that I am shocked to hear of his passing, or that I never could have saw it coming. But sadly that isn't the case, and that makes it all the harder to take. When Jonathon came into my life, he was a trouble young boy looking for help, and I was someone desperately seeking attention, and validation that I wasn't invisibile. As you can imagine this was a scary combination. Our relationship enabled us in so many ways, we depended on each other in so many more, and in the end hurt us more than any High School relationship should.
So many people loved Jonathon, his family, my family, his friend, the SACS family, but love wasn't something that he could never see or understand. As an 18 year old, it was exhausting to love someone who didn't love themselves. He controlled my whole world, and could tear it apart or mend it together with his words. Anyone who knew us back then saw our volatile relationship play out very publicly.
When Jonathon moved in senior year, my family instantly excepted him as one of us. He spent holidays, birthdays, and family reunions with us. My parents treated him like a son. If you asked my mom how many kids she has, 5 was/still is her answer. My dad, seeing a hurt kindred spirit, took him under his wing and tried to be the father figure he so desperately wanted. My siblings thought of him as the big brother they never had. He teased them, played tricks on them, but if anyone messed with them he had their backs. He always had mine too, even took the blame when I drove my car into the side of our brand new house.
Not a day will go by that I won't think about Jonathon (he would have be 26 today), and that I could have done more. Maybe if I had found him sooner, or never gone away to college things would have been different. Or maybe they would have been just the same. There are so many what if's and maybes and questions that will never be answered. But I do know one thing, without Jonathon I never would have gone to OU, and never had the experiences that have led me to where I am today.
Jonathon, I hope you found the peace and love in death that you never could find in life.
Very true. I'm sorry for the loss. I think that all of us who knew Jonathon hoped he would find peace in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteFirst loves are hard to forget. They teach so much about ourselves, about love, and about growing up. You were a positive light in his life and someone there to give him what he couldn't give himself.
Britt
The Secondhand Magpie