Easter Traditions

I invited Brian to join my family for Easter the first year we met. When we got there, my mom exclaims to Brian, "He is risen!" To which Brian replied a very enthusiastic, "thank you!"

He didn't know the tradition of replying with, "He is risen indeed!"

When we explained it to him he found it odd, but no more odd than anything else my family does.

Every Easter for many years, Brian and mom acted out this tradition. She exclaiming, "He is risen!" and Brian replying back "He is risen indeed!" in a silly or grandiose way that was meant to let her know he loved me enough to play along.

Over time, it became a special thing between Brian and mom. It was like a competition to see who would say "he is risen!" first.

For the past few years, Brian made it a priority to say it first, going as far as waking up early or answering the phone with, "he is risen!" as a greeting just in case mom called. He got a big kick out of the whole thing.

It may have looked like he was making fun, but making fun of things was how Brian expressed love.

Brian and Dad with their "fancy coffee" in Lucca, Italy

I Miss Brian Moore

I miss Brian Moore.

Up until recently I've been really focused on myself and my experience of all of this. I've talked about missing my husband and my friend and my playmate and all the things he was to me. I've talked about my loss and the pain of my grief, but this isn't that. This is not about what he was or did for me. It's just about him as a person.

I feel like I'm just now getting around to thinking about Brian outside of his impact on my own life and accepting that he's not just away from me. He's really, really gone. I miss his presence on the Earth, not just his presence in my life.

If you didn't know Brian, you missed out.

He was hysterical and lighthearted and fun. Chances are good he was smarter than you, but the chances you knew it weren't quite as good. When it came to making jokes, no one was off limits - even himself.

He really wanted the people around him to be happy and having fun.  He was generous. He was a fantastic tipper, loved giving gifts and picking up the tab. He really liked money, but not to keep or have. He enjoyed spending big to have nice things and to go on exciting adventures. He was slow to anger, but if you managed to get on his bad side, he would definitely hold a grudge. He was straightforward about it, too. If he didn't like you, you knew it.

He had talking points - bad parents and idiot kids, stupid people, drive-thru incompetence, Apple products, gun rights, and  freedom of thought. He had strong opinions about politics and pop culture controversies.  He had strong opinions about a lot of things, but he wasn't offended by opposing viewpoints.

He used to say, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if they are wrong."

Brian's vocabulary was a bit vulgar, but not in a way that was intended to be offensive. He just didn't take words as seriously as the rest of the world and didn't see the need to censor his thoughts.

He worked hard and did a good job no matter what he was doing, but he didn't love to work. He loved to play. He was quite possibly the most playful person I've ever known.

He didn't love everyone, but for the handful of people (and creatures) he loved, it was with all of his heart and it was special.

So I miss my husband, and I miss my playmate and I miss my soul mate. That's all still very true, but I also miss Brian Moore outside of the context of his relationship with me. I miss who he was as a person.  The world is just not as good without him in it.

Brian hanging out with Oscar the friendly grouch. 

Park Bench Dedication Transcript

Working his way out of poverty, building our beautiful home and being part of a nationally-recognized community was probably the first thing Brian would mention if you asked about his greatest accomplishments. I can not thank the Eastmark Community Life team enough for not only allowing me to memorialize him in this way, but for being so thoughtful about it and for investing themselves emotionally in what I was trying to do. Pastor Darren Nibbelink from Focus 314 provided me with his notes from the dedication of Brian's memorial park bench that took place March 7 (Brian's birthday) and I thought it would be a good idea to share them here.

Brian Moore

Today we are celebrating the life of Brian, a wonderfully sarcastic person that made everyone’s life better, with a simple joke and a look.

On behalf of Tricia, I want to say thank you for being here today. And a very special Thank You to Eastmark for this beautiful gesture.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance

Today is time to remember Brian and thank God for giving us Brian. Thank you Brian for making our lives better. Today we are here to remember Brian and the life he lived. It’s not just the life of Brian, but those he impacted while he was walking among us.

It’s not even about this moment right now, this is the time to remember, but it’s about all the moments that will take place right here in the future. This is a time for this place to be an impactful memorial.

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”

One of the amazing attributes of Brian was how hard he worked to build a future for himself and Tricia. We want to dedicate this place for future families to enjoy and make lasting memories. We want to dedicate this place as a place of healing.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

We know there will be those who are hurting, and we pray that this place will be a place of healing. A place to bring comfort to those with a broken heart. Brian was proud to be a part of this community, so let this be a place of healing for the community as well.

We want to dedicate this place to be a place for families.

Proverbs 14:13 Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in grief.

If there is one verse in the Bible that describes family, that would be it: joy and heart ache. But we understand that moments of laughter are wonderful, and moments of heartache can be horribly wonderful. It’s all the moments of the life we share with those close to us that matter.

Every moment we share. We don’t know what Life has in store for us. We can’t navigate away from the twists and turns, but we put our hope in the Lord. An eternal hope for a better tomorrow, an eternal hope for a brighter day ahead.

The timing of Brian’s passing shows us just how much we don’t know what tomorrow will bring us, and his life teaches us to live every day in the moment before us.

Take each moment and treasure it. We treasure the moments that bring us together. We treasure the moments with friends and family. We live our life with family and friends. Treasure those close to you, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. 

Brian loved to have a good time. He loved a good joke, a great sense of humor. He loved seeing you, almost daring you to, try and embarrass him (which typically ended up with you being the one embarrassed). He enjoyed adventure, playing games, and being with his family. He enjoyed life. He enjoyed every moment of his life. 

I love this quote that Tricia chose for this memorial.

“Remember me and smile, for its better to forget than to remember me and cry.” Dr. Seuss

When we look backward, remember and smile. Understand how much he impacted us, and we live forward changed because of that impact.

We don’t know what tomorrow may bring. Each of us has an unknown future. Let us live every day in the moments that we have and trust our unknown future to a known God.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we know where to put our hope and our trust. Let us pray.

God we come before you today. We come before you remembering the life of Brian. We trust that Brian is with you, that you have raised him up and that we will be with him again in eternal life. We dedicate this place to you and to Brian. Teach us, Lord, to trust you more every day. Teach us to enjoy the moments of this life. The moments of joy and the moments of sorrow. Teach us to follow your ways and trust you more every day. Amen