Reflections on a life cut too short

I am going to break away tonight from my typical posts about baby business to reflect on a friend that passed far too soon. A lot of us in Wilmington end up here because we enjoy the beach life or the southern way; many times that moves us far from home. Because of this, a second family is formed where your friends become your brothers and sisters (and in some instances children). The Wilmington community lost one of our brothers today; his name is Nick Mowers, he was a friend of mine and a dear friend to Travis, as with many others. I don't know all of the details and the ones I do know really don't need to be posted over the internet, but I know that his death was sudden and unexpected and he was far too young.

I want to talk a little about Nick as a person, but, to relate this somewhat to this blog, I want to first think about the experience of unexpectedly losing a life. There is a strange mix of deep sadness for the loss coupled with fear of how your life can change in the blink of an eye. People hug their loved ones a little longer and express their feelings a little louder because when something like this happens to a friend, who knows who it could happen to next? There is no rhyme or reason, because if there was, Nick would certainly still be here with us. I think what this tragedy can do is make us all live a little bit harder. If you love someone, tell them; if you want to try something, do it; if you are wishing for something, try harder. From what I know, Nick modeled his life that way; he had fun with his friends, utilized his creativity to do what he loved, cared for others, even those that were hard to care for. These thoughts give me more resolve to continue on my journey towards having children and I hope this would make Nick happy.

So, in closing, I just wanted to share how I will remember Nick. I'll remember always being happy to see him at Slaintes on Saturday afternoons; there was no way I was leaving there without a lot of laughs and I don't think it will ever feel the same. I'll remember the way he could always poke fun of Travis for his preppy tendencies and get away with it. I remember thinking he was just so cool, a man's man that designs jewelry, how often do you find that? I'm sure not everybody got fashion advice from Nick, but if he liked a piece of my jewelry I knew it was a keeper. I'll also remember how he talked about his work as a teacher, how he would lament about his students and the school system, but you could tell deep down that he truly cared for those kids. But I will mostly remember him on nights out, surrounded by his friends, and all of the fun that surrounded him as well. Rest in peace Nick, you will be missed.