Kerry

From Kerry I would take his ability to have fun and do just what he wants to without feeling guilty. Maybe it was because he was 7th in a family of 9 and he needed his own identity. He and Brian were and are one of the great delights of my life. They were born when I was in my JR. High years. I was delighted with their arrival. I remember standing Kerry in the corner at Grandma Sacry's house and helping him walk. Holding him, burping him, laughing at his cute antics. It had been a few years since we had any babies and I was so in love with Kerry when he arrived.
When he was a pre-schooler he was so busy. And so creative in his antics. When my friend Barbara Ballard (Seybert now) came over one day and was playing the piano he was feeding her raisens while she played. He handed her one at a time. Between her playing she would reach over and receive a raisen. One of those times when her hand came over he slipped in a fly. Thankfully, she thought he was as clever as I did.
I remember Mom chasing Kerry across the house with a pancake turner and when she finally caught him he would say, "I like to be spanked!" While he was one of Mom's challenges, I always got the feeling that she also adored him and admired his spunk. Karen (his wife) praises Mom for raising a son with so much confidence. Maybe part of that was because she truely did think he was clever, intelligent, fun and full of life. He was a real treat in our lives. That has never changed.
Kerry and Brian seldom just sat and watched TV. They created high jump and pole vault pits in the yard. They had boxing matches. When Kerry was in one of the early grades he got in trouble because he and his friends thought it would be funny to place a banana peel in the hall of the school and see who would slip on it. Once he and Brian came to stay with us for a few days when we lived in Columbia, MO. I loved that! I remember we built a bowling alley in our hall. Kerry's 3rd teacher told Mom he wasn't capable of doing good work but she would pass him anyway and gave him all C's. I figured she was pretty stupid because I knew he was one of the most intelligent people I knew. We now know he has dislexia and probably did have a hard time. But Kerry didn't let that stop him. Yesterday Brian, Dad and I ate breakfast together and we were thinking about how Kerry is the only one of my brothers who does computers like Kerry does. Kerry really understands them.
I always have given credit to Carla for Kerry's success in high school. Their closeness helped him go on a good path. But since I was away from home during those years I can't say for sure. I do know they've always had a special friendship.
When I think of Kerry I love most his laugh and his loving attitude. We tease him because he always seems to get a job that he can love and have fun in. Bendix, Anchor gaming and then teaching and coaching, and, of course, the theatre. I admire his ability to change careers in mid stream. I understand his love for the high school kids and I understand why they love him. He is just so nice to be around. He's really like Mom in that way. He draws people to himself because he is just so fun to be with. While I feel guilty if I'm not living up to everyone's expectations, Kerry seems to realize that he's happiest and is more a gift to others when he is himself, when he is true to who God created him to be. And in being himself, he has gifted us all so much. By being a charming toddler; and fun, creative elementary age child; an active, athletic, friendly and fun teen; an adult who sought out his dreams and had the courage to follow them. And we get so much fun because he's done that. We get to watch basketball games, tennis matches, cross country, etc. We get to go to the movies free. We get to enjoy his delightful children. And we get to be a part of his life and have the joy of just being with him. His warm, gentle hugs. His smile with a wink. His kiss on the forehead. His laughter. Thanks, Kerry. So easy to love.