Short Stories

Precious Memories

Sunday, August 6th, 1978, Adam Shane Godwin made his entrance into this world. Weighing exactly what his older brother, Kristopher, had weighed, 8 lbs. 8 1/2 oz. and exactly the same length as Kristopher had been, 21 1/2 inches.

From birth, Adam was his brothers baby! When I could not do anything to stop Adam's crying, Kristopher, who was exactly 3 1/2 yrs. old the day of Adam's birth, would say to me, "Give me my baby. Let me have him. He wants me!" I suppose that he did. The moment I would hand him to Kristopher, the crying stopped and the cooing began. They were inseparable throughout their life. For that I am most grateful.

Adam was so totally different than Kristopher, even from birth. Kristopher never cried as a baby. He slept 12 hours a night, from birth. He was a quiet, calm, very easy going baby and child. His clothes had to match, down to his socks, as a toddler. He couldn't stand to get dirty, and now at the age of 24, has had his hands dirty one time that I know of! I even took a picture of that!

Adam...totally different...From the time he arrived, he made his presence known. He seemed to never sleep, just like his mother! By the time he was 7, he had most likely asked more questions than I have asked to this day. Kristopher would tease him sometimes and offer him a dollar if he could be quiet for just 5 minutes on the way home from town. LOL He never did get a dollar for that!

I'll never forget one day when Adam was 8 years old, and he and I were riding home from town, by ourselves. We were halfway home and he had talked non-stop thus far, (10 minutes) and he looked at me and asked, "Can I ask you a question and you tell me the truth?" Of course, I told him, "Most certainly!" "Do I drive you crazy by talking all the time, asking so many questions, never being quite?"

I was stunned! Did he actually talk too much? Did he talk all the time? I hadn't really noticed! That was just Adam. I couldn't imagine him being any other way. "Of course you don't drive me crazy! How could you? You're my Adam." We both smiled at one another and laughed.

I remember a time when he was 16 years old, a year before he was killed, when I looked at him and asked him, "What are you trying to do? Drive me crazy?" He looked at me and said, "I could never drive you crazy. I'm your Adam." I cried.

Adam had a passion for life. He was completely different from all the other people around him. We live in a very small country community. Sports, cowboys, rednecks, sports! Here he was, a skater (skateboard), an artist, writer, musician...his passion was the drums, *weird* clothes, *strange* hair cuts, different music. I'm sure you get the picture!

When he spent a year in the public school here, his Freshman year, he made many friends. What was *strange* about the friends he made was the fact that none of them could stand one another. They had never had anything to do with one another...until they each became Adam's friend. He would tell each one of them, "You may not like him and he may not like you. But when you are with me, you will be friends and get along with one another." Today, those who Adam made friends with, who couldn't stand one another before Adam's presence in their lives, are friends. I believe they always will be.

I remember the last question that Adam asked me, just two days before his death. He had bought a truck just a month earlier, and washed it daily. I kept telling him that he was going to wash the paint off of it if he didn't give it a break! *S* He was washing the truck when I returned home from shopping. As we were carrying the groceries in, I noticed a very small spot on the back fender. I asked him what that was. He said, "Well, you told me that I was going to wash the paint off...I did! There was some touch up paint on that spot and I actually scrubbed it off!" How we laughed at that!

I stood in the doorway, watching him wash that truck, and he looked at me and asked, "Mother, do you think that it is a sin to be proud of something? I mean really, really proud of something?" Of course I knew he was talking about his truck! I told him, "Of course not, baby! Why this is your very first truck. The first major responsibility you have. Of course, you are proud of it!" He smiled that beautiful smile of his and then laughed out loud and said, "Good!" as he breathed a sigh of relief, and continued, "Because I certainly don't want to be guilty of having any idol in my life!" I couldn't help but laugh...along with him.

That laugh echoes in my mind to this day. That was the last question Adam asked me. The night that his body was found, I was sitting in my recliner and I heard his voice so very plainly...and he said, "Mother, do you think that it is a sin to be proud of something? I mean really, really proud of something?" Without hesitation, I turned and answered, "Of course not baby! Why that is your new home. Of course, you are proud of it!" I cried.

On Sunday, Mother's Day, May 12th, 1996, Adam Shane Godwin made his departure from this world; and made his entrance into his new home.

There are times that I miss him so much that I don't know what to do with myself. Then there are times that I can't possibly say that I miss him, because it is as though his presence surrounds me. My new life.

Adam Shane Godwin
Sunday, August 6th, 1978
Sunday, May 12th, 1996

I Love You, Adam, more than life itself...
Mother

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise.