Truly One of a Kind...

...I mentioned earlier that my good friend Katie lost her one of a kind brother, Colin. He was truly a kindred spirit who was always up for an adventure. Katie and I went to high school and worked together during summers in college. After college, we kind of each took our own path and when I moved back to STL, we'd get together here and there. This past December we went to this crazy craft fair and had lunch and we've been hanging out and emailing a lot more here lately.

Every time we'd get together , I'd ask how her brother was doing and you could just tell by the way she talked about him how proud she was of him. He'd been in DC working for non-profit research group then he decided to go to law school.

This past March, he made a debut on "Jeopardy!" How cool is that!!! She blogged about it and again, you could tell she was very proud of her little brother. I had my sister tape it for me and his little clip for the local station was, "Hey Cape Girardeau...watch me, 'cause I'd watch you!" I was cracking up because that's just "so Colin." "So Colin" is a term that has been used a lot lately.

Then this past May, he headed to Mongolia for a law "externship." Once again, Katie proudly told me what her brother was up to and she posted cool pics like this on her blog of her little bro. Then last week, she emailed me to let me know she was going to be with her parents because Colin had gone hiking and had been missing for over 48 hours. Later that day, she emailed me again to tell me they'd found him but it was too late.

My heart is aching for this family because they lost their one of a kind brother/son and had to wait for over a week to get him back. I have watched them be so strong this past week as they have taken it all in and figured out how to deal with this situation. Today is the visitation and a chance for all of Colin's friends and family to say their goodbyes and remember all the good times they'd had with him. I know that Colin's sister and parents were so proud of him and everyone who knew or met Colin thought he was a fantastic leader and person. Colin truly was one of a kind and will not be forgotten. Please continue to pray for Katie and her family.