“Living the Dream” -Mason Howard

He never knew tough love, not until he met my daughter.

He knew to remove his cap when he sat down at my kitchen island; without me asking him to. I knew that by him doing that that someone had taught him about manners. My first thought was, “…so far so good!
Manners matter in my book.”

I didn’t have a meal prepared for him. However, had I known he was coming over I would have loved to of cooked him a home cooked meal. I had a pork lion in the refrigerator; he might have enjoyed that.

He wasn’t here to eat or to fellowship, he was here to tell me about himself. …he was on a mission. To tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

As I looked at this tall, tan skinned, young man sitting across from me, all I could think about was a phone call that I received a few weeks back.

I was making my bed when my cell phone rang. I recognized the number right away as it popped up on my home screen. So, I pulled the comforter up tight and sat down on the side of the bed.

“Hey! How are you this morning?” I asked as I sat and smoothed the top of the comforter with my hand.

“Jamie, you know I love you, right? This is hard for me to do because I love him. He is such a good friend to my son. …but.

You need to know that Mason stays in trouble, and I know that you and Terry would not approve of him being with Karen.” She says.

“Karen? Mason? Who’s Mason?” I interrupted.

“She met him here at my house a few weekends ago, and he says he has talked to her every day since. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good kid, he just stays in trouble. ...drinking, cussing.” She continued, “I just thought that you needed to know.”

And, she was right. Terry and I wouldn’t and didn’t approve of our daughter being with a teenage boy who was willingly drinking, cussing, and living a troubled lifestyle.

I taught my daughter not to be quick to judge; that we are all sinners, we just all sin differently, and to help others alone life’s road instead of pushing them over when you think they’re down, and to be a blessing and not a burden. Life is hard enough as is.

So, I sat there in my kitchen across from this Mason kid. He came to see me; not Karen. He came over to meet me and Mr. Terry. However, Mr. Terry hadn’t made it home from work, yet.

As he opened his mouth and begin to talk, it was like the cover of an old, heavy, dusty book being flung opened for the first time in decades. {Flop! …and dust particles floated up.} then he went into audio.

As he talked, I listened to his every word. I didn’t interrupt him, not even once. I listened very carefully as he shared with me his highs and lows, and his ups and downs of his teen years, and by the sound of it he had more lows than highs and more downs than ups.

There were moments that he made my head spin! I couldn’t believe some of the things he was confessing and confiding in me. He was telling me everything, because he wanted to better know my daughter.

He declared his love for my daughter, so he had my full attention. Because, I believe that love builds a future and I wanted to be a part of any future that he had with my daughter. I also believed in him,because my daughter saw something very special in him.

I laughed with him as he reminisced about his childhood with his dad, and he had me in tears as he shared with me of his dad’s death in 2010.

All I could see at this point was a broken, little boy sitting across from me; silently calling out for help.

Luckily, he was in the right place at the right time, because I’m one who willingly takes you by your hand and walks with you through life’s storms.

Mason confessed to me that some, not all of the rumors that I’ve been told were true.

He also confessed to me, “If I’m not getting into trouble, trouble seems to always find me!”

He shared with me the hole in his heart from missing his dad, and that he keeps making the wrong decisions in and for his life. “I want to do better, I do! It just seems like the harder I try, the more trouble I find myself in. I never look for trouble, it’s just always there.” He said.

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.

Romans 7:15 NLT

He shared with me a little about his faith in Jesus as I listened with tears in my eyes.

At this point I was like a little kid in the candy store! Faith talk.
I love it! I can talk about Jesus and faith all day long, so this was my cue to take over the mic.

“Mason, our relationship with the Lord is a lot like swimming up current. The waters of life try to push us back; we just have to swim a little harder.”

For over three hours Mason sat in my kitchen sharing his heart with me. He shared with me his love for his dad, his grandparents, hunting, sports, and he day dreamed out loud {very loudly} of becoming an agriculture pilot like his granddaddy. He spoke very highly of his granddaddy.

He expressed his love for golf, and was excited that he did well in his last golf tournament, and was excited about a golf article that he had written for the newspaper. [I’d love to have a copy of his article.]

I was impressed by him.

I didn’t at all see a trouble making teenager in front of me. I saw a teenage boy trying his hardest to live his life while still grieving the loss of his father. All he needed was God, a little more time, lots of love, his faith to be exercised, and guidance.

Everyone needs somebody to believe in them.

Mason announced that he needed to be leaving. It was a thirty-five minute drive back to town, and he was planning on meeting his granddaddy, Paps, at the airstrip.

As he began to stand up, he held the brim of his cap and tapped it down on my kitchen island while saying, “Is there anything else you need to know about me? I’ve told you everything.”

“No, no, Mason, thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I will be looking forward to seeing you again real soon.” I said as I hugged him good bye and reminded him to put on his seatbelt.

As time went on Mason would have come over a few more times. Each time he came he shared a little more of his heart and he ensured me that he was well and that things were looking up in his life.

…and they were. If anything my daughter gave him, it was tough love.

As I recall attending one of his football games. Mason was hot-headed over losing. I couldn’t believe my own ears when he was cussing in front of us about the game. He was casually cussing; as if it was no big deal.

Needless to say, Karen broke up with him for being so disrespectful in front of us, her parents. In time he realized it was wrong, asked for forgiveness, said he’d work on it, and they were back together. … tough love.

They reminded me of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in Grease, “You better shape up!” in that song ‘You’re The One That I Want,’ it fit Karen and Mason perfectly.

You know, I didn’t know his favorite color, or if he preferred long sleeve over short sleeve,

undershirt or no undershirt,

pull-over or button-up,

flip-flops or slip-ons,

tennis shoes or boots,

water or sweet tea,

vanilla or chocolate,

backroads or turn roads,

or if he was a breakfast person or not.

I didn’t know his middle name until I read it in his obituary. I didn’t know a lot of things about Mason that I should have known.

I should have called him every time I thought about him, which was every day. I should have been more involved, instead of standing on the sidelines of his relationship with my daughter. …my daughter.

Their relationship was off and on so many times that I lost count.
However, each time that he came back into Karen’s life he was a better person. He loved her and she loved him.

Prior to his passing last week, he and Karen were separated, however, they still remained close and in love.

Their hearts were definitely tied together by their heartstrings, and he took his last breath while holding her hand.

What was I thinking by not being more involved when I could have? …should have.
Through Karen, I invited him over time and time again. My husband and I, we, wanted him to stop by more.

Mason, we wanted you here with us, eating with
us, going to church with us, sitting around the bonfire with us, watching movies and eating popcorn with us, and doing absolutely nothing with us. We just wanted you here. We wanted to get to know you better.

I never dreamt that his life would end.

He was just a kid! I thought I had all the time in the world to get to know him better.

I thought wrong.

Mason’s dream of becoming a pilot did come true. “I’m living the dream,” is what he would tell Karen. She was proud of him, …we all were.
Flying brought Mason more than living the dream, his dream. Flying brought him peace, guidance, and his purpose for living.

In loving memory of:

Mason Tyler Howard
March 25, 1997 – April 9, 2016
Fly high with our King, Mason. You have your real wings now.

Here’s Mason flying above our house. He called Karen and asked her to come outside that he was coming by to wave hello. He flew over tilting his wings from side to side. …so sweet.

Just a thought:
Sometimes the good, the bad, and the ugly things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.

I don’t know why things fall into play like they do. However, looking back over my life, it’s those hard times that made me a stronger person. …the person I am today.

#LivingTheDream

“Living the Dream” -Mason Howard

https://medium.com/@jamie_88393/oh-dear-lord-in-heaven-1a7b0eda6ee3

[Edit: July 25, 2019 an image from: The Clarksdale Press Register ]

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