Today I had set out to post all about our basement progress, to show pictures of our amazing tile we installed this weekend. I started writing the first sentence of the post probably a half dozen times, and each time deleted it. None of it seemed the slightest bit important or necessary in light of a tragic event that struck our family for the second time in months.
Yesterday, our oldest nephew Ben was killed in a hiking accident in Washington State. He and another boy (he was hiking with 3 others) were climbing a rock near a waterfall in the Snoqualmie National Forest (east of Seattle) when they both slipped and fell 100 feet. Both boys died. Of the two that survived, one stayed while the other ran over 5 miles for help- and once he reached help, he had to drive down the mountain to get into cell phone service range. Their bodies were recovered this morning.
I cannot begin to fathom the pain of losing a child. Ben had just graduated high school- he was only 18! My heart is breaking for Jon's sister and family, and also the family of the other boy, who was just 16 years old. It's amazing and sad at the same time to read their Facebook pages and see the impact they had on others. Please if you would, keep Jon's family in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve the loss of Ben. I'll definitely be back soon with some happier notes!
