Patrick and Logan

Saturday morning we received the horrible, unbelievable news that late Friday night there was a fire at my cousins Lindsay and Tom's house in Roanoke.  The entire house was destroyed and my cousins's two beautiful boys, Patrick, 10, and Logan, 5, were lost in the fire when the second story collapsed.  Friends of the family who were staying the night all made it out with smoke inhalation and minor burns, and Lindsay and Tom made it out too with smoke inhalation.  They were all driven to Winston-Salem to the hospital there, near where my aunt lives, and spent the night under watch.

Lindsay and Tom lost everything, not only, but most importantly their two boys, but their house, pets, cars, everything.  Lindsay's business was in that house too.  Two fundraising campaigns have been set up to help them get back on their feet, if not emotionally then at least financially.  YouCaring and GoFundMe, which has the best picture of Patrick and Logan.  Your thoughts and prayers are also greatly needed to help Tom, Lindsay and the entire family through this tough time.

Patrick was quiet at times, a very pensive kid sometimes, very curious and smart, highly energetic.  He taught me how to kneeboard last summer at the Lake.  I remember visiting after he was just born while I was in college and Lindsay and I went to make a plate with his footprints on it.  Five years later we did the same thing with Logan.  Those plates hung on the wall in their kitchen.  Logan was a wild child, incredibly bright and always trying to keep up with Patrick, leading to many adventures.  I love those boys!  They were taken to be angels too soon.

It's just unthinkable.  You never expect something to happen to your family, even though you hear about it happening on the news, but sometimes it does.  There is no reason to explain something like this.  Sometimes burdens we have to carry have no reason, we just have to carry them.