We went to a funeral today.  A celebration of a life lived in a magic burst.  The young woman was a member of our community of special needs families that played baseball together.  She played on the Challenger Baseball League team that we were lucky enough to be a part of for a number of years.  She passed away a week ago at the age of 21.  She went gently and quietly in her sleep.  Her passing is tragic.  Her life was not.

Katy had issues.  I have known her for years but really don’t know what her diagnoses were.  Oddly enough, I never really cared.  Diagnoses are for doctors, therapists and trivia games.  We trade them around like so many bubble gum cards.  We use them to one-up each other.  That game where you try to “top”  your buddies with how hard you have it.  “Oh yeah!?  Heart attack, schmart attack!  I was born without a heart.”  We collect diagnoses by accident and they define a lot in our lives, but they do not define the kids.  The kids in our world are defined the same way as every other kid, by who they are in their own heart.   Katy was defined by her heart as well.  She was full of life and curiosity and joy.  She was a smile. She was a light.  She was bright and warm and funny.  She was a candle with a huge flame. And, like a candle that burns bright and warm, it often burns out far before we would like.  And, so did Katy.

One of God’s miracles, though, is the power of memory. The candle may be temporary, but the memory of it is not.  The memory of that special, bright, warm, joyous candle can stay with us for as long as we live.  Even when we no longer can call a memory to the surface at will, some moment will snap it back into focus. The warmth of that candle, its brightness and color and aroma will be as real in memory as it was in reality.  For the rest of my life I will be blessed to see Katy in my memory.  I will see her smile.  I will see the incredible devotion of her parents to her well-being.  I will hear her laugh. I will see her point to her Mom and Dad with the purist of love in her eyes.  I will see Katy. I am blessed.