Watermelons, Pumpkins, a 10 year old boy & 9/11...

So, I've been doing a lot of reflecting the past few days...about 9/11/01 

and how it affected us at the time.  

I'm still shocked when I again watch the events of that day.

I was at work that morning, doing payroll for Pizza Hut.  No time to stop and watch.

I had a dentist appt. in the afternoon and watched footage there.

We didn't watch a lot of footage until the kids went to bed.

Preston was and still is a sensitive kid and they had watched it at school.

We had no idea how much it had affected him.

He was 10 years old at the time....and in the 5th grade.

It happened on a Tuesday and on Friday night I had a crop to go to.

That night Preston was talking with his dad. 

He told Randy that he wanted to donate his heart to one of the victims of 9/11.

Broke. My. Heart.

Saturday morning, he & I were talking.  He told me what he wanted to do.  

I was trying to explain to him that if he donated his heart,

then that would mean that he would be dead and we would miss him.

This child was trying to come to grips with what had happened...

he wanted to DO something to help those who were hurting.

I couldn't begin to comprehend what had happened & why...

and my child was struggling too.

I promised him then and there that we would do something.

Something to let him feel that he was helping someone.

I didn't know what we would do, but I prayed a lot that week 

to figure out a way to make this happen for this boy.

We ALL wanted to DO something!

This is where the watermelons and pumpkins come into play.

For the first time that summer, we had tilled up part of 

our farm ground near the house

and Preston planted watermelons and pumpkins.

We had an AbUnDaNcE of them!!!

 And the pumpkins were HUGE!!!

We suggested that he sell the pumpkins & watermelon for donations.

We would then find someone to send the money to.

But I didn't want it to go to a large general fund.

I wanted him to have the connection to someone personally.

We knew no one from any of the crash sites....no one that was personally affected.

So, I started talking to everyone we knew.

I shared the story with friends, our local paper, 

in Sunday school, Bible Study Fellowship and

my leader in BSF knew a family who knew 

one of the firefighters that had died in the Twin Towers.

 This firefighter's name is Michael Otten.

He was with Ladder Company 35.

We didn't know him or his family, 

but he will forever be a part of our hearts.

He left behind a wife & 3 boys.

That really affected Preston.

He kept asking how the boys were....

he was always concerned for them.

We prayed and still do, for this family often.

Every time something comes on tv or we come across a 9/11 memorial,

Preston (and the rest of us, to be honest) look for Mr. Otten's picture.

He is an adopted member of our family....silly right?

But, this man has become a part of us...our story with that day.

Every year on or near the anniversary, 

Preston wonders how the family is doing.

I put a picture of him as my facebook profile to remind myself & others of the sacrifice

that this man and many others gave for their town, neighbors and country.

Preston talked this year of writing the family...

to let them know...

He has NOT forgotten.

I hope he does that.

So, back to 10 years ago...we had a lot of Jack-o-Lanterns that year!

Preston was also busy that fall making bird houses out of cedar trees from our farm.

He made one for me, grandparents & great-grandparents for Christmas.

He asked us if he could make one for Michael Otten's family.

It was great for him to work on this for them.

He painted the pumpkins to decorate the house.

He wanted hearts on it too...

he wrote, 'From my heart to yours' on one of them.

I cried...I Loved the tenderness of his heart.

Made me mad that he had to be exposed to so much hate & hurt.

So, for Christmas that year, he sent the package to the Otten family.

Complete with the bird house, check from his pumpkin sales,

gifts for the boys (I think Legos...surprise, surprise!), and letters from him & myself.

I was a little nervous sending the package off.

We didn't know this family.

I didn't know how they would react getting something from strangers.

I didn't want to offend this mother, sending this check for $363 (I think)....

like that would make a huge dent in her loss.

I prayed that they would feel the hurt and love that we were feeling for them.

In the heart of Kansas...far removed from the physical tragedies of the devastation.

We have still not been to New York.  We talk about it a lot.

Preston would love to meet this family...

to learn more about Mr. Otten,

to give them a hug, 

and to let them know that 

We will NEVER forget!