Not long ago I shared with you about my oldest son, Kevin. But tonight I want to tell you about Kameron, or Kam-Dog as I call him. He wasn’t too fond of that nickname at first for some reason. Personally I think it has an edge to it . . .attitude . . .the kind of nickname that causes kids younger than you to wish they had a cool nickname too. Plus it sounded a lot better than Kam-Cat. Kam-aroni. Kam-dude. Kam-a-lam-a-rama. I’ve got nothing.
Kameron is, perhaps, one of the funniest and quick-witted people I know. He loves to laugh, and to make people laugh. And he loves to check things out, and I don’t mean library books. Let me explain . . .
My cousin was getting married. You can imagine the setting; it wasn’t much different than most weddings. It was at a large church, it was decorated nicely, and everyone was excited about this big day. Prior to the wedding, Jennifer, the kids and I were hanging out with our family in the foyer. I’m not certain of the exact time of the wedding, but I do know that about 10 minutes from this sacred ceremony, the fire alarm goes off. As you can imagine, panic ensued. The crowd in the foyer began to disperse, looking for a fire. My natural reaction was to make sure that my family was all together, and it was then that I noticed Kameron slowly backing away from the wall which just happened to be the location of the fire alarm. (Note to those who build buildings with fire alarms: put it above the reach of little kids) Yep, he did it. Pulled the alarm handle down. The temptation was too great, and his curiosity was just too strong. So . . . what was going through my mind was how I was going to explain this to my cousin, and the rest of the crowd that was there. At the same time I was fearing the worst: that the church had a sprinkler system in the worship center. Thoughts of candles being doused and decorations being ruined were running through my mind. It wasn’t long . . . like minutes . . .until the fire department showed up, and I greeted them. “Hey, how’s it going? Um, my son, the one over there with his hands cuffed and hanging upside down, he pulled the alarm down. There’s no fire, everything is fine.” They didn’t accept my explanation. As protocol dictates, they were obligated to check out the whole facility. Great. There wasn’t a pew large enough for me to hide under. And then it hit me when my uncle (the father of the bride) said, “That’s little Shawn.” Needless to say, memories were made that day . . . just ask my cousin.
Tomorrow, Kameron goes to camp for the first time. Part of me is excited about this new adventure in his journey; and then there is part of me realizes that it is just one more step towards him growing up and the inevitable “little letting-gos.” I have no doubt that God is shaping Kameron, and even now using him in ways that are making an eternal difference. He certainly has made a difference in my life.
I could tell you more funny stories about Kam, but they are too many to mention here. He is mischeiveous, curious, quick-witted, intelligent, animated, articulate, outgoing, and loves Jesus Christ with all his heart. He has blessed my life in ways that are hard to express in words, but without a doubt he has made me a better man, and I pray a better father.