a necessary pause

Tuesday night after Father's Day as I packed for my upcoming girls trip, we got shocking and tragic news that our good friend Rob's brother Richard, had died.  We had just attended Rob's wedding in Wichita in May and that was the third time we'd had the pleasure of meeting Richard.  I had been showering and heard my phone ding-dinging away with text alerts as it often does when Angela, Rob and I get a group text going.  These texts contained the horrible news as Rob couldn't locate our email addresses.
Richard was something of a sports journalist celebrity in the DFW area but was an even more amazing husband and father.  The tributes that poured in instantly after his passing were testament to all the lives he touched and the special person he was...... 


"The only criticism I ever had of Richard Durrett was that he was too nice," ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon said.

"Covering a major sports beat isn't a lot of fun most of the time.
You are always trying to beat the other guy, get the scoop. You make things a competition because that's part of the business. It's always been that way and it probably always will be.
Richard Durrett was part of that but Richard was different.  He was better than the beat because of the kind of person Richard was. In a cut-throat business Richard didn't fit in because he was nicer than the rest of us. That's what made him so special."

"Befriending practically every person who crossed paths with him or helping as many folks as possible just came naturally to Richard Durrett,"


Richard had bugged Ryan and I about having a second kid while we chatted at the rehearsal dinner and absolutely beamed when showing off his own beautiful kiddos.  On Sunday, after the wedding, and while saying good-bye, Richard remarked about bringing his family to Colorado to ski.  I offered to watch his kids while he skied and he commented that he'd never do that and how he couldn't wait to feel the pride a Dad feels while watching his kids ski for the first time.  I can tell you I'll never take watching Ben ski for granted and not a day has passed that I haven't hurt and prayed for Rob and his family.  Mostly I pray for Richard's wife, Kelly, because I don't know where and how she finds the strength to go on.  I think it's silly sometimes how we as humans try to make sense of tragedy but I also know every person who's life was touched by Richard will do well to set about the rest of their days living just a little more like he did.  Richard was patient and genuine in a way no one else I've ever met has been.  When you talked to him it really felt like you were the only person in the room or the world and you had 110% of his attention.  I've already tried to put that focus and caring into practice in my conversations and relationships and I know lots of others who knew him are living with more kindness and intention in his honor.




Richard Lamar Durrett, Jr.
October 13, 1975 - June 17, 2014 

 Richard Lamar Durrett, Jr., age 38, passed away June 17, 2014 in Plano, Texas. He was born October 13, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia. Richard attended Christ the King Elementary School and Marist High School before moving to Montreal, Canada at age 16 with his family. There he graduated from Lower Canada College in 1994.
Pursuing an interest in sports journalism, Richard attended Texas Christian University graduating with a BS in Radio-TV-Film in 1998. During his time at TCU Richard broadcasted play by play for the women’s basketball team, co-hosted a sports talk radio show, wrote for the Daily Skiff, and was an enthusiastic member of the TCU Marching Band. It was in the band that he met his future wife, Kelly Neumon.
Richard began his professional career broadcasting play by play for the Idaho Falls Braves, a minor league baseball team. His next move brought him back to Texas broadcasting for the Fort Worth Fire hockey team, writing for the Grapevine Sun, and later moving to the Denton Record-Chronicle. He then accepted a position with The Dallas Morning News where he spent nine years covering local high school sports, motor sports, college sports, professional hockey and golf, and the Rangers.
In 2001 Richard and Kelly were married in Albuquerque, New Mexico and eventually settled in Wylie, Texas. Their son, Owen, was born in 2008 followed by daughter, Alice, in 2010. Richard was active in the choir at Northway Christian Church, enjoyed reading historical non-fiction, and was well-known for his breadth of knowledge. A family man in the truest sense, Richard was a devoted husband and father.
In 2009, Richard joined ESPNDallas.com covering the Texas Rangers and other sports, as well as co-hosting a local sports radio show on ESPN 103.3. A versatile journalist, Richard was a prolific writer, blogger and contributor to ESPN programming.
Richard is survived by his wife, Kelly Durrett; son, Owen Durrett; daughter, Alice Durrett; and a baby on the way due in January; parents, Lamar and Barbara Durrett; brother, Robert Durrett and his wife, Carolyn; two sisters in-law, Katherine Neuman and Rachel Cooley; and numerous other family members.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made at texasrangers.com/foundation or through the mail at Richard Durrett Family Fund, Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, 1000 Ballpark Way, Suite 400, Arlington, TX 76011. Donations made through the Rangers Foundation in his memory will be directed to the Richard Durrett Family Fund.

model behavior

Just a couple not-to-be-missed phone pics of my boys..........

and Tante captured these gems while watching Ben so I could work after Ryan got called out of town.......

Dad's Day

This year Nana Pat kindly offered to host a Father's Day gathering.  Despite my efforts to plan a packed and elaborate day last year, Ryan was happy with absolutely whatever and that was good because the block party and working the day before made things a little hectic this year.  Once this mama took a good, long, deep breath, we set out on an adventure-filled and very fun day.  Ryan opened his gifts and put his new bike seat on his bike before we set out for brunch and fun at the South Pearl Farmer's Market.  We had amazing breakfast burritos and Colombian tacos, ice cream and green cactus smoothies, and rode our bikes home slowly through Wash park.  We spent the afternoon at Nana and Papa's neighborhood pool and enjoying their backyard with the whole fam.

carnitas taco

those breakfast burritos were SPICY

spinach, lemon, lime, and prickly pear smoothie= tart but delicious

you can guess who had ice cream....

.....and who had some of both.

several places at the market have live music

  

I almost got a cute pic of Ben in front of the teepee Nana made before the rest of the family walked in-almost!

I remarked on this day how it doesn't feel that much different than other days because I almost always do all the cooking and cleaning.  Despite that, it's important to honor the dads., husbands, uncles, etc., in our lives.  Ben and I are very blessed to have Ryan who works so hard to provide for us and is a loving and giving husband and father, too.  The way he and Ben light up and giggle when they play together is a never-ending gift to me and one I stop frequently to soak in.

2nd and final S. Josephine St block party

I did say several times last year that I wouldn't undertake the block party again, but I did.  I actually had the date planned in January because even back then I had about 8 things to do on June Saturdays and only 4 days to do them in-eeek!  In the end I changed the day to accommodate some neighbors which meant I had to work for part of the event.  The weather was less then cooperative for part of the event but cleared to make for a very enjoyable evening.  Although we all bring our own food, and some to share, there's a lot that has to happen for a city street to be closed.  I have to get a petition signed by 75% of the neighbors, buy insurance, and appear in person for a permit.  Long story short, the permit people were less then friendly or efficient and it took hours to get. This year the barricade restrictions were much more strict and I tasked Ryan with taking care of them.  Well-timed constrution being done on our street meant the perfect barricades were already in place.  Despite my thinking they'd be left and available after talking to one of the workers, they were picked up and removed just hours before the event.  SUPER RYAN to the rescue!!! How my brilliant husband pulled this together in hours with Ben in tow is still beyond me but he certainly does work best under pressure.

This "free" on the road soccer goal I'd insisted we snag worked perfectly.

the other end

Last year neighbors had requested a longer event including a bounce house so I made that happen.  Another neighbor contacted the fire department and they brought a truck for the kids to explore and even turned the hoses on.

 

the bounce house arrived hours early before the cars were moved

oh man this pic!!

Sadly, and perhaps due to weather, many people who said they would attend did not and many who said they wanted a bounce house did not contribute.  This meant the Heimer Haus footed the bill for a big portion of the insurance and bounce house. Ben did spend nearly 7 hours jumping :) and another neighbor bringing his fire pit out meant the festivities lasted until the wee hours for my husband and a couple others.

The event does bond the block and creates lasting memories for the kids.  I hope the tradition continues and someone decides to plan and execute next year-in a pre-paid fashion, of course. :)