half a hundred

Donate.

Gotta love the sensationalist headline.

I watched Heroes the other night, and was appalled because Sylar’s kid was killed. This seems irrelevant to anyone who doesn’t watch the show, but let me explain it another way, especially for those who don’t have kids.

Think about your dad, your mom, your hamster when you were 5, the last gift you received from a loved one before he/she died, and your current cat/dog. Roll those emotions (the good ones, at least) all up into one burrito, and multiply that times 1231251212. That’s the kind of emotion you have for your kids. When they hurt, you hurt more. When they’re happy, you’re happier. It’s amazing, profound, and tragic all at once (because, really, why didn’t *I* think to have so much fun with a toilet paper roll?)

One of my biggest fears is something tragic happening to Nate before he’s grown up. Really, ever, but it would be debilitating to see something like that happen before he’d gotten a chance to live his life. Being hit by a car, getting shot by an idiot kid down the street, drowning, or choking are all possibilities that worry me. This just happens when you have a kid. Things that you deem unlikely become Death haunting up on you.

I can’t imagine anything worse than losing a kid. Nothing even close. I’d happily give up all 5 limbs, eyes, ears, and tongue if I were ever in the position to trade it for something bad happening to Nate. I’m not even that nice of a guy, so I’m sure that other parents feel just as strong about their own children.

What’s tragic is that kids aren’t immune to fatal diseases. There are treatments, but they’re expensive. There is research, but it still needs money. And you know what? The kids could use a teddy bear while going through what will arguably be (unknowing to them) the biggest struggle of their lives.

As such, this month’s charity is the National Children’s Leukemia Foundation.

Donate today.