a letter to my friends and family

dear friends,

today was a day i'd never wish for anyone to experience. we said goodbye to a good friend far earlier than we expected. caleb was a friend to many and the life of the party. his smile, his humor, his athleticism, and his heart will be missed. it did not feel real until we were gathered in the church this morning and he was not sitting there with us.

i regret to say i hadn't kept in touch with caleb much since college ended. but instead of regretting the things i cannot change, i'll be encouraged and encourage you all to maintain connections and say hello to those friends who may have moved to the back of your phonebook. these days we have are precious and the opportunities we have may pass by long before we expect them to.

my blogging started as a result of seeing a young man lose his life. that co-worker gave me the motivation i needed to get my life moving and to take advantage of every minute i have. i've written about these ideas over and over, but i can't stress enough how precious life can be.

but instead of talk about how we all should quit our jobs and move to portland, i want to say thank you. thank you to all of my friends. thank you to the friends i've seen this week and thank you to the friends i haven't seen in years. you all have shaped me into the person i've become. all the good times, all the bad times, all the times that never happened; these things have created who i am. i believe in God putting us all where we need to be when we need to be there, and i believe my interactions with you have been put in place by a greater power.

so thanks for being who you are. thanks to the people i've played music with. thanks to the people i've made videos with. thanks to the people i've shared coffee or beer with. thanks to the guys who kicked me when i was down. thanks to the guys who lended a hand instead. thanks to the people who tried to pressure me into things i didn't want to do. thanks to the people who eventually made those mistakes with me. thanks to the girls who dated me. thanks to the girls who refused to. thanks to the teachers, pastors, and supervisors who led me. thanks to the students who followed me. thanks to the people who have made me laugh. thanks to the people who have made me cry. thanks to the people who have made beautiful music for me to listen to. thanks to the people who have listened to my music. thanks to anyone who let me copy their homework in high school.

thanks for the rides, the parties, the study sessions, the poker games, the pick-up games, the dates, the maybe-dates, the concerts, the late nights, the early mornings, the mid-afternoons, the boy meets worlds, the monday night footballs, the high-fives, the kicks in the groin, the road trips, the long walks, the law and order marathons, the important talks, the irrational behavior, the guitar lessons, the arguments, for talking me out of a lot of bad ideas, and for letting me have a drum kit in the house.

anyone who knows me well knows that i value my friendships. i just want to make sure that you all know how much you mean to me. and i'm not talking about my "readers", but i'm talking about my family and friends. thanks for making me who i am and loving me for the man i've become.

love,

jake