Jason's Gifts:
People receive gifts all the
time, often never understanding what the other person had to sacrifice in order
to give them. A gift given from the heart can be many things—a box of
chocolates, a visit from someone you haven’t seen in a while, a huge
bear-hug…or gifts that have no other explanation but that they are gifts from
God or the Universe.
My brother,
Jason
, always loved gifts. I remember his excitement at opening up a Christmas or
birthday present, the sparkle in his eyes as he hoped it was exactly what he
wanted and not a pair of underwear or socks. He’d rip into the wrapping paper,
even as an adult in his twenties. There was no thought of recycling for him. And
he always gave us the biggest hugs afterward. In the past few years, when it
came to giving gifts, he was either in no position financially or he simply
forgot because of his social and mental situation. We always understood and the
only presents we expected from him was maybe his presence.
Then in January, 2006, his
birthday month,
Jason
left us more gifts than we ever expected.
It started with a book. My book.
Whale Song was published in 2003 and months afterward, possibly even the
following year, I mailed
Jason
a copy. I never knew what impact that book would have on the events that would
later come.
But I digress.
Jason
’s story really starts many years before this one event.
Jason
’s story starts the night I dreamt my mother was pregnant. The night I dreamt
she would bring a baby home in a green, pink and white blanket. Pink being more
a girl’s color, I envisioned a beautiful red-headed girl. I was wrong on one
account.
Jason
wasn’t a girl.
Jason
Anthony
Kaye
was born in
Bermuda
and kissed by a tropical sun. God gave him copper ringlets and a cherubic
face…and the temperament of a little devil at times. (God does have a sense of
humor.)
Jason
was the ‘golden child’ in more than physical ways. Sure, he was a pest at
times—especially to me and my brother,
Derek
. We were so much older, but we loved that little pest. And he knew it.
Jason
was the chubby kid at school who got picked on. I can relate so well because I
was the first
Kaye
child to see that side of childhood.
Jason
overcame the weight issue at an early age, partly with my help but mostly on
his own. And I was so proud of him. He overcame many things. But then his
‘demons’ called—in the form of peer pressure, alcohol and eventually
drugs.
And he slowly began to slip away
from us. We lost him…and we never got him back.
continued...
