One catalyst for the conversation I had with my Dad that resulted in him telling me to write more was the recent death of my husband's and my friend Scott Merkel.
Erik and I met Scott in May of 2001, a few months before we were married. He was the listing realtor for the house that we later bought (and still live in). We were immediately impressed with the house and being new to the home purchasing experience probably didn't conceal our enthusiasm very well. Scott later told us that he knew we were going to make an offer. He said, "It was obvious." We were also impressed with Scott. He was easy to be around, funny, smart and bluntly honest (something that those of you who know me will understand I appreciate). That was the beginning of our friendship with Scott. Even though througout the coming years we didn't actually see him often it was always with delight that we spent time with him, his wife and later his daughter Lexie. Amanda, his wife, is such fun and full of life. Their daugther Lexie, so smart, thoughtful and sweet. One of my most cherished memories of time spent with them was when after many hours of laboring on the new flooring in our living room - Scott, Amanda and Lexie stopped by with the intention of giving Erik some pointers on what to do to finish/fix the floor. They ended up spending the rest of the evening with us. Scott and Erik diligently working on the floor while Amanda, Lexie and I watched Disney movies. I remember telling Amanda how I felt guilty that Scott was spending all this time working on our house and that we hadn't intended for him to do that. She made it clear that it wasn't a bother by saying, "Are you kidding? This is what he would rather be doing."
Despite the fact that our contact over the last several years has been sporadic, I have been deeply grieved by the loss of Scott. Not a day has past since his death that I haven't thought of him, his wife, their daughter and his family. I try to imagine what it must be like to wake up in the morning with the realization that he is no longer here as a spouse, a parent, a son, a brother...but I can't. What little I have to offer in the area of spiritual support through prayer and good thoughts I've streamed their way as often as I've thought of them.
Scott will be sorely missed. However, no matter how cliche, he was definitely a bright spot in the world and left this world better than when he came into it, just by being who he was.
I'm certain this is an unconventional way of starting a blog, but none-the-less Scott's really the reason it has started so it seems fitting.
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A tribute to Scott for sure. Lisa & Erik actually recommended him to us when we were preparing to purchase our first home - I wonder if he ever complained to them about that later...
The man was good enough to show us what must have been easily 30+ homes before we finally settled on two - one that cost a little, and another that cost literally 4x more. His honesty came out in full force as he described the cheaper of the two as, "the better fit" for us, despite his obviously smaller take as the Realtor. And he was right - it was a better fit, and we bought it.
During the hunt, one of Karin's requirements was that the home must have an ideal spot for a Christmas tree setup. On the day we signed and got the keys, Scott took us over to the house to open it up for the first time as new owners, and before we made it to the back door, he was unloading a large potted pine tree, an outdoor Christmas tree if you will, to be planted in the back yard.
I couldn't say we got to know Scott well, but for the time that our paths crossed, we certainly got to know him well enough to respect, and appreciate him. We still talk about him regularly, and fondly, and our prayers go out to his family.
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