The first 10 years of Mitch's life he lived a ways from me . . . but not so far that I didn't see him several times a year and it became a yearly ritual for me to take my kids and go visit over "spring break" at school. I know my kids sure enjoyed it and I think we all did!
Then there was the morning when I got the call from my sister Tami - "Mitch(first grade at the time?) was on his bike and he was hit by a truck" - - - well... I'm sure she didn't say it JUST like that - but that is what I heard - and I remember I was instantly panicked and equally relieved to hear that his bike was the only thing hurt . . . I cried with relief.
Then Mitch and his family moved within 12 miles of our home. . . so the next couple of years were great fun - going to orchestra concerts, watching Boy Scout projects - special events at school and one very fun almost daily event - coffee with my sister . . . oh no wait . . . that wasn't what Mitch will remember - - - it was this:
Todd's Polaris that stayed in the garage. As an employee of Bos Motor Sports my son Todd, in college at Fort Hays State University, quickly grabbed on to one of these "toys" and while he was away at college - the rest of us had fun riding it!! Especially Mitch. He would come over with his mom and his little sister, Amanda, almost every night after school and shyly ask if he could ride the 4-wheeler. And we always responded - sure - take it slow. We had an empty lot attached to our property - made for a great race track!! (take it slow - - RIGGGGHHT).
Mitch lived further from us for the rest of his school days but I still enjoyed watching him grow up - having fun with his cousins - learning to do just about anything his dad could do - which is just about everything - and attending his graduation bash - which was a great time!
Now he joins the family line of Tigers!! Fort Hays is one of the colleges that many of our family members have attended and he is making us all proud as a firefighter, nurse, concrete plant worker and employee of the eye retrieval bank which does amazing work in organ donation! Guess you can tell I'm a proud aunt!
But I have to go back a few years - specifically 22 years ago to the day that this is posting - - - The day Mitch is born . . . like I say many fond memories that surround Mitch! Of course - what do you do when a new baby is born into the family - you pack up the car and visit, right?? That's just what we did - that afternoon we loaded up our kids and headed up to St. Paul, Nebraska to see Mitchell Scott. Now on this short two hour journey, we were enjoying the thrill of already having children - fighting in the car!!! "Mom he is touching me . . . Mom she's on my side . . . Mom he's looking at me . . . Mom!!! . . ." Well we lost our patience as you can imagine - and as usually happened - stopped to spank the guilty child . . . and usually it was the big brother . . . Todd. My husband got out and was headed around to have a "stern" talk with the son - and as he opened the door and still not sure how he noticed - but being the good husband/father - he noted that there was a pile of something under the car - fuel leaking - - - what could it be?? So . . . the story goes that instead of Todd getting swatted a few times - we realized what was really important and headed back to the nearby town to see what could be done! After 2-3 hours sitting in a small countryside town at a gas station - - - we had a new fuel pump and we were off to see Mitch!
Happy Birthday Mitch! Looking forward to many more great memories!
Every family has a story that it tells itself, that it passes on to the children and grandchildren. The story grows over the years, mutates, some parts are sharpened, others dropped, and there is often debate about what really happened. But even with these different sides of the same story, there is still agreement that this is the family story. And in the absence of other narratives, it becomes the flagpole that
the family hangs its identity from.
A. M. Homes
There are a lot of other stories you could tell about Mitch, but thanks for only remembering the good ones. He's a wonderful man, and we're very proud.
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