22 Forever

A few months ago I was going through Pierce’s school materials we’ve saved over the yearsI admit I saved just about every art project or paper each of our children ever wrote or made. I came across a folder of papers written during Pierce’s middle school years. He really didn’t enjoy English, writing or journaling. Many times his rebellious nature would show by him making up funny, nonsense stories. Much of his writing would be completely centered around sports or athletes. If he chose a library book it was always sports related. I started to read through the pile of assignments. Many made me smile just reading and enjoying his sense of humor and funny stories. I came across one though and it completely brought me to my knees. He would have been 11 or 12 years old when it was written. Apparently the assignment was to choose an age you would want to be forever. I’m sure we read it at the time he wrote it but it completely knocked the wind out of me reading it now. So many questions. I’m afraid I will never really understand 😔. These are Pierce’s words written at about 12 yrs old.

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If I could be any age that I wanted to be forever I would have to choose 22. I choose 22 because I would be old enough to smoke, drink, drive, vote and go to college. But I would not smoke and drink.

If I was 22 forever I would vote every 2, 4 and 6 years for representatives, senators and President. I would also go to college at UT, University of Texas and graduate. Then I would move from city to city so people wouldn’t recognize me.

If I was 22 forever I would drive places around the continental US, Canada, Central America and South America that I had never been before. After that I would get certified to fly a plane.

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After weeping I smiled thinking about what he had written. “But I won’t smoke and drink”. Pierce knew I would be reading this so that sentence was meant for me! He knew there would be a lecture about how bad those things are for you and he wanted to spare himself that lecture! LoL! Also, going place to place so no one would recognize him. I realized he was saying because he wasn’t aging he would have to move or people would wonder. I still cannot understand where 22 came from. You drive at 16, vote at 18 and drink at 21? It just doesn’t make sense. I began to think of it as a gift he left. It was his wish to be 22 forever. I thought about him going into detail about voting and how very significant that is. Especially with the upcoming election and especially with the issues revolving around illegal immigration and the man who caused his death. I’ve always known Pierce would want us to tell his story and what our family has experienced and learned. I’ve always known Pierce would expect us to fight for not only him but others who are being affected by illegal immigrant crimes. I know he’s continuing to guide us and clearly he realized the importance of voting. We love you Pierce and we will never allow anyone to dismiss or excuse the behavior of those entering our country illegally and taking the lives of innocent American citizens. 😔🙏🏼💜✝️😇🇺🇸