I am Thankful for Cory

     There have been times in each of my children's lives when I have felt very close to them. With Cory it was kneeling in prayer with him when he was going through hard times, helping him jump some big hurdles in his life, helping him with big projects and laughing uncontrollably with him. I saw him go through hard times and I saw him battle his way back stronger than before, becoming a power to be reckoned with. With Cory I have seen his struggles for friends at different times and felt helpless when he got swallowed up in loneliness. All I could do was give him a happy home and hope it all worked out. I loved how Cory learned to pick himself up, dust himself off and find things he was good at, things that made him happy, to crowd out the things that made him sad. I also liked how he fought to be good to people because people had not always been good to him.

One of Cory's unique pictures. He has done some amazing artwork, comics and doodles

One of his doodles. He draws on everything, filling pages with amazing art.

      Cory is an amazing artist and he poured his talent into making beautiful things, paintings, drawings, whatever. He loves to create things. As I watched Cory grow up, what I admired most was that he didn't sit around and feel sorry for himself when he felt blue, he either started making something or he would make someone else happy. One of the first jobs he had was perfect for him, where he could create things and make people happy. He worked for a lady who owned a company called Fabulous Events where he got to help her decorate fabulous looking parties. While he worked for her he also got to dress up as a dinosaur and hug children and make them smile, which he was good at. I loved that Cory could pick up a piece of paper or other material and create things. I learned from him, that if I am sad, I can create things or go out and make people happy and I will feel better.

One of the parties Cory helped with. There was also a blue room. He had to blows up thousands of balloons

A perfect job for Cory

Even his sister and brother got a hug

    When Cory was in elementary school he and I spent hours working on some very complex Halloween costumes for school. We had a lot of fun working and laughing together, even when we kept having problems with the costumes we were making. It was fun to build a strong mother and son bond creating things together. When he wore these costumes he would get a lot of attention and be important for a day, in a world that sometimes treated him as unimportant. It really made him shine for a day. So we were encouraged to make the next year even better than the year before. Nothing makes a mother feel better than watching a child shine, watching a child smile and feel important, plus we had so much fun working together. Cory has always been able to make me laugh, many times so hard it brought tears to my eyes.

Being abducted by aliens

Granny watching the baby

This costume gave us a lot of trouble but everyone loved it

    During and after high school Cory liked Anime (Japanese animated cartoons) and took a Japanese language class. There was a big Anime convention every year where people would dress up like Anime characters and spend a weekend hanging out together for several days. As a family we went to some of these conventions just to look at all the hundreds of people dressed up. It was crazy how elaborate some of these people would dress up. It was like visiting another planet. One year Cory spent a lot of time on a costume that didn't work out and he had to give up at the last minute. He wanted the next year, before he left on a church mission, to be the very best. He spent months planning and making parts of his costume and he wanted it to look exactly like the character. He wanted it to be perfect. He designed the whole thing and he had a LOT of problems along the way and by the end he was worried he wouldn't get it done in time. Cory and I worked on his costume around the clock for several weeks. We ran into a lot of problems trying to figure out how to do all the little parts. We were working on it day and night and he was even late to the convention because we had had so many technical difficulties. I knew how important this was to him so I made it one of my top priorities to help him. The time spent with him working hard for something that was important to him was very rewarding. The payoff came when he stepped out into this big hotel and he was an instant celebrity, people gathering around him, everyone taking his picture and posing with him. Some of his friends freaking out with excitement because they thought he did such an awesome job. He was so happy and proud of himself and the work was all worth it. I felt like crying watching him. All our hard work, sweat, frustration, laughter and time spent together had given him some time to shine in the limelight. I will always look back on this time spent with him as a gift.

This was the character he was trying to duplicate

Some other people at the convention

Cory became Legolas last Halloween

    Cory worked at Walmart after that and he didn't like that job very much but this was another chance for him to be important to someone else. This is his account in his journal: “While I was working this past summer, I had the chance to get to know many interesting people. There was a girl in particular that I became friends with. She had taken a bad path in life. She is now living out of her car, attempted to file for bankruptcy, and running from multiple companies that want money she doesn't have. While I knew her I saw many changes in her life. She would often tell me of how I made such a difference just because I was nice to her. She greatly reduced the number of cuss words that she uses in a day and she is overall happier when I am around. When I first saw this girl, I didn't even expect her to be my friend. I took a chance and found a lonely pearl hiding in the cold sand. I made a difference in her life and helped her feel more welcome in the world.” This girl wrote Cory a sweet note when he left Walmart to serve a mission for 2 years. She was sad to see him go. She was very touched by how sweet he had been to her. Again he had been good to someone who the rest of the world had treated badly. 

He served a church mission in California

    Cory served a 2 year mission for our church in California. He worked hard and had the chance to change more lives. He taught quite a few people about the love of God, people who were struggling with alcohol or other substance addictions, the homeless and people whose lives were in despair. He helped them find God and hope. He was able to see some lives change and see people happy and hopeful for the first times in their lives. We went to pick him up at the end of his mission. There was a meeting we attended where each one of the missionaries spoke and also some of the people whose lives these missionaries had touched. It was a very powerful meeting and I cried all through it. Afterward we were able to meet people Cory had taught and hear how Cory had loved and helped them. What a powerful experience it is to have someone tearfully look at you and tell you what your child meant to them, how much their love changed their lives. There is nothing more gratifying to a parent than that. I am thankful for Cory. I know his journey is just beginning and he will touch more people with the great love and compassion that he has. I feel honored to be his mother and learn so many good things from him. I am a better person having him as a child.

Another way Cory made the most of things, like making a Christmas tree out of a vacuum

He also used his artwork to get more meals on his mission. On a week when no one had signed up to feed them he drew a dying missionary in the desert. The calendar was always filled up after that.

Just a few of the many people who loved Cory and were sad to see him leave

We were happy to see him again and take him home. 

He could also create things out of snow

One night the doorbell rang. I opened it and there was the snowman on the doorstep. It scared me and then I couldn't stop laughing. The snowman had lost his bean eyes in the sunshine that day.

A lot of people drove by our house and stopped when they saw this snowman on our doorstep.

He also carved our tree trunk. Cory, thank you for all the times you have made me smile and laugh. :)