Not too much has changed since then. He still has those beautiful green eyes and I still have that lovely double chin.
We have always been more like brother/sister rather than nephew/aunt. he definitely has a special place in my heart - and that will never change.
Mason's favorite thing to do is go fishing. He fishes from around 11am until they kick him out when the lake closes. Last week while fishing I'm sure he never expected to earn the title "hero".
An elderly man across the lake had a heart attack, fell into the lake and didn't come back up. (Mason didn't know he had a heart attack - he just saw him fall in and not come back up) So, he ran over to where the man fell in and without hesitation jumped into deep waters to save him. He pulled him back to land and called for help. The man lived thanks to a 17 year old boy who decided to go fishing that day.
I am so proud of Mason. He could have just sat there and waited for someone else to step up. But instead he reacted immediately! His 17 years on earth hasn't always been flowers and butterflies - but I know that God has a great plan for his life. I can't wait to see what that plan is!
This won't make sense to many of you - but I will end this post by saying: YEOW!
(YEOW is a "masonism" - maybe I'll explain it here someday?)