Reed Baldwin Memorial Scholarship & Grant Fund

I awake for the third morning in a world without my brilliant and beautiful son.  He died Thursday afternoon 4/1 in what appears to be a freak car accident.  The other driver is seriously injured, but will recover.  We are lost and trying to find our way.  It has been a revelation how very many friends thought the world of him and care about our family.  Thank you all for the beautiful demonstrations of that caring.  

For those who never met him, let me tell you a bit.  His magnificent brain was always thirsty to learn.  He may not have turned all of his school assignments in on time, but his ACT score was top 1% in the nation.  Everything he was passionate about he became an expert in.  He was a wonderful musician (piano, alto sax, bass guitar) with a gifted ear who produced his own album and helped others with theirs.  He was an incredible machinist, rising quickly in the ranks at a company that celebrated his skills and made him feel valued.  He was funny, generous, had an acerbic wit, and was often dismayed at our messed up world.  He was highly-sensitive, strong-willed, and complex; sometimes I didn't understand his choices because they always seemed the hardest route; but in recent months we had forged a new, stronger connection that I will hold in my heart forever.  At 22 he had just begun a heroic journey of self love and self care.  He was on his way to do something that made a difference in this world.

So now we must try to carry his torch. We want to donate to the music and robotics programs at Gateway Middle School and Jackson High School where he found a community of friends that appreciated him and band directors who inspired him.  He once told me he didn't realize how wonderful this community was and how good he had it, until he graduated and it was gone.  

I believe our souls live beyond the moment our bodies break.  I believe he is still with us, teaching us hard lessons, loving us, shaking his head at how foolish we sometimes are.  Wherever his soul resides, I wish for him to be gloriously happy, to find glorious love, to be gloriously healthy, and to be filled each day with a purpose that ignites his beautiful soul. 

On today of all days (Easter), let me remind you that love is all there is. ❤