where wildly different is perfectly normal
And like that, gone.
And like that, gone.

And like that, gone.

We’re a pretty sad family around here right now. The passing of Steve Jobs last night…well, let’s just say it hit A hard. Very hard. I’m worried what kind of kid I’m going to pick up from after school care in a minute hard. The man…he changed the world. He refused “good enough.” He gave us the future, small enough to fit in my son’s hand. And A? Is devastated.

A has admired…no, idolized…Steve Jobs for years. I don’t know what started it, but it’s there and it’s real. He has wanted nothing more than to write to Jobs and share his inventions. Remember, he’s ten. And hates writing to the nth degree. But he wanted to tell our generation’s Da Vinci all his inventions, because…well, he just did. And then I found out why last night.

I didn’t know how to tell him. I knew he’d take it badly. But I did, and you could see his soul just deflate. And he looked up at me with those blue, tear-filled eyes, and cried, “I never got to send him my inventions!”

“I know sweetie, I’m so sorry. I know how important that was to you. I don’t know why it was so important, but I know it was.”

“I wanted to send them to him because I wanted someone famous to tell me how brilliant I am.”

And my heart shattered.

This is the child who can only be described by my favorite Jobs quote, the one I make sure is in my signature line when I email teachers:

Here’s to the crazy ones. 
The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. 
The round pegs in the square holes. 
The ones who see things differently. 
They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. 
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. 
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. 
Because they change things. 
They push the human race forward.
And while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. 
Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world… 
are the ones who do.

That is A. My God, that quote is my son. And his hero, a man who I’m convinced would “get” him, has died.

The tributes are everywhere. The one that had me in tears is at The Unofficial Apple Weblog. But here in the House of Chaos, we are going to pay tribute in a different way, by raising A to be the person in that quote. Because I’ve always known he was going to change the world.

Rest in peace, Steve. Make heaven a Mac haven. And thank you for your vision. We’re not the same because you lived.

5 Comments

  1. I’m so sorry for the pain and loss you and your son are feeling and you are feeling for your son.

    I’ve been watching my daughter make household items out of duct tape the last two evenings. While I’d rather she were doing her homework, maybe she’ll turn that duct tape ability into something to “push the human race forward” one day. So thanks for the perspective…

  2. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed your post. This one was certainly bittersweet to read, but I loved it nonetheless. Hugs to A.

    Also, I found out that the artist who created that image is Jonathan Mak Long, who is a 19-year-old living in Hong Kong. I thought that might make you smile. #GlobalImpact

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