Till We Are Home

Five years ago, we bought trikes for our three kiddos. Out of this was born the legend of the Danger Monkeys. 

Now, the Danger Monkeys existed almost from the day of Isabel’s birth. Isabel, as the youngest, always tried to make sure big brother and big sister did not stray too far from her. She kept up the best she could, getting into nearly as much as they did. She loved playing and involving herself in all their activities from whatever ‘Gaga’ did (Isabel could not say ‘Joshua’ when she was little, so she called him ‘Gaga’) to tagging along with her sister. And because Aby was the oldest sister, Isabel thought she was the cat’s pajamas. 

She loved whatever big sister did. Aby started to draw, Isabel picked up a pencil. Aby wanted to do horse camp, Isabel saddled up at horse camp. Aby got into American Girl dolls, well Isabel picked out her favorite doll and clothes, too. If Isabel wanted to sled down the hill with Aby and Daddy, she buckled up and hopped on board (this is one of my favorite photos of the girls…look at the elation on Aby’s face and the sheer terror on Isabel’s! Don’t worry, she was fine and wanted to go again.). This dynamic duo could also be seen riding around town (well, maybe just our yard) in a pink Barbie Jeep crushing ant hills, following Daddy on his riding mower, cruising along and gettin’ into “trouble”.

Well, this fearsome twosome matured over the years along with their taste for adventure. Like I said, the legend of the Danger Monkeys was born soon after Christmas of 2019. While all three kiddos had their trikes, it was mainly the youngest two who stole out of the house on a given day to hop onto their hogs and ride into the wind. Whether it was setting up courses in the driveway with cones, taking turns spinning out in the shop, or bringing those bad boys off-roading, the girls eventually decided they needed a name for their two-woman operation. 

Danger Monkeys seemed to fit the bill.

According to legend, the Danger Monkeys found themselves inciting mischief inside stores like Target from time-to-time. There may be a video circulating on their mama’s Instagram feed of these two running amok through the store. Though no reported damage occurred by the officials, there was one papa who heard about their dancing and carrying on through the store that made him shake his head in disbelief and, well, just plain give up in surrender. He’d tried to make them a civilized pair, but those Danger Monkeys knew it was frolicking and cavorting about that brought themselves smiles and stories for days.

These Danger Monkeys had a knack, too, for giving gifts to each other. For whatever reason, when they would enter a certain local Hobby Lobby, they’d latch onto a tree-topper Santa Claus, shame him with the moniker “Baby Santa”, and carry him about the aisles of the store with glee, hootin’ and a hollerin’. I’d ask their mama about all this, and she’d just laugh and shake her head…it didn’t get past me that maybe it was their mama – my own wife – and her lack of discipline that allowed this legend to grow as big as it did.

Well, that Christmas, Isabel presented her sister with Baby Santa as a gift…and it was the very next Christmas that Aby gifted her Danger Monkey sister the Mrs to that Baby Santa. I think this was a fitting last Christmas gift that Aby could give her Danger Monkey partner. 

It’s been a rough season for the oldest Danger Monkey. She misses her partner-in-crime, and so do I. I miss the groans of their trikes in the driveway, the goofy grins on their faces when they’d come home from shopping with mama, the sweetness of seeing my two daughters together. 

When we lost our Isabel, we found several ways to honor her life, to remember her and commemorate those things we love so much about her. One of the things we asked loved ones to do for us was to paint some rocks that we could leave at her grave. Aby wanted to paint one, too…it was only fitting that she’d paint her fellow Danger Monkey. (Joshua painted one, as well, from his and Izzy’s favorite t.v. show.)

Oh, this Daddy’s heart laughs and cries at these memories. I hurt for my oldest two as they miss their sister. I hurt for her mama and me as we miss our little one. But, thankfully, I know these relationships, these memories are not lost in death. They will carry on and our relationships will continue in the New Jerusalem one day…all because of what Christ has done for us. 

Until that day, though, I’ll treasure these memories of my little one and hold out hope that the reunion of the Danger Monkeys will be inaugurated with a ride through that new city and maybe I’ll hear the familiar groan of their trikes, but this time on streets of gold. In the meantime, I wait and remember…

Till we are home…