... About Craig

I realize that for outsiders, yesterday's post was a bit cryptic. I wanted to post SOMETHING, but I didn't know what to say. So today I'll explain a bit. On Saturday, July 5, my friend Craig Decker jumped into Utah Lake to retrieve an oar from his boat and never came back out.

Craig has always been one of my favorite people on the planet. He's one of those people that could always make any activity more fun. Anyone that ever knew him loved him instantly.

The lyrics I included with the picture of Craig and me yesterday are from Billy Joel's "Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)", and there's a reason I picked that song. Back in high school, Craig decided he wanted to learn the song, so he asked me to accompany him in the practice room sometimes. That's one of my favorite memories of Craig, sitting at the piano with him, playing "Lullaby" while he hummed along. He then borrowed my (Mom's) sheet music and lost it, and bought me (her) a new copy and stuck a bow on it. The sheet music is now buried in Mom's piano bench somewhere, but I'm pretty sure the bow is still there. That song has always reminded me of Craig, so I thought stealing a few of the lyrics would be appropriate.

Of all of Craig's talents, my favorite by far was his incredible backrubs. We used to trade them off - I'd give him one just so he'd owe me one, and vice versa. I put him to sleep with one once, which is how I managed to steal his brown sweater and kept it for a week.

Another of my favorite Craig memories was the time we went up to Idaho for a band competition. We stopped for lunch at a shopping center that had a few fast food options, but Craig and I decided we'd rather go to the Albertson's across the street and buy real food. Once we hit the produce section, Craig proclaimed that we would be remiss if we didn't buy a souvenir potato while in Idaho. So we did. We named it (although I can't remember what) and made it the mascot of the competition.

Once a big group of us went up to Donut Falls for a hike. A few people decided to climb up to the top, Craig and I among them. We had to cross the river over some boulders. Craig was giving me a hand up on one of them when my foot slipped a little, and for whatever reason CRAIG LET GO. Which means I went tumbling down into the river and got soaked. The water was freezing, but not quite as cold as the time we spent all day playing in the snow and tried to thaw out our toes in front of the Starr's fireplace.

I feel so blessed that I had a chance to have Craig in my life. When it seemed like the world was falling apart, I often thought of him and it made me feel better. As long as there was someone like Craig in the world, things couldn't be all that bad. His contagious smile, his unfailing optimism, his quirky sense of humor, his glowing love for his family, friends, and faith - these are the ways he impacted my life. These are the things I loved most about him, the ways he made me want to be better, be more like him.

The picture yesterday was from a trip we took last summer up to Bear Lake. Moments after I arrived he sat beside me, grabbed Jacey's camera and snapped it. I loved that, because he didn't care that we hadn't kept in close touch after high school anymore than I did. To Craig, once you're his friend you're always his friend.

And he'll always be mine.