Today I bought a guitar. It’s beautiful. It’s glossy and it’s smooth. The hard shell black case is bare, and just waiting to be adorned with the type of stickers that musicians like to put on their cases.
I wont be learning to play it however : I’m donating it to a wonderful cause called ” Guitars for Veterans”. It is a program that pairs military veterans who are struggling with PTSD, OSIs, depression, anxiety ( etc) with a guitar, in the hope that music can help to soothe a hurting soul.
My beautiful son loved his music, and it got him through some of the hardest days of his life. Sadly, it wasn’t enough on that final night.
It’s been just over 5 months. Every day I wake up and look at the tattoo on my wrist that I got in memory of him: it grounds me and reminds me of the reality: he is truly gone.
His birthday is this month. And I still don’t know how I will get through it. But today I went out and bought this guitar. My son was a serving member of our military at the time of his passing so I am gifting this guitar on his birthday, in memory of him. I decided that this is what I will do on his birthdays from now on. It won’t bring him back. But he will live on through the music.
I’ll be donating anonymously, but I will put a letter in the case with his story as well as one of the cards I had printed for him. As well, I will have just one request : that the person who gets this guitar learn to play Rocket Man, as that was a song that Sam loved to play. It’s why our family lovingly refers to him as our Rocketman.
I hope it will bring peace to someone, somewhere. In Sam’s memory.
For the Love of Sam 