This is so very hard...I have cried Every Single Day since November 12th, 2021. I'll do my best to tell you why...Back on August 3rd of 2004, our 'surprise' last baby was born. Caden Jackson Swancey was his name and Wow...what a kid! The youngest of 4, with numerous cousins, Caden was tough from day one! He didn't care what was going on, he just wanted to play...and if it were a baseball game...Oh Yea! Caden wasn't much over 3, if that, when he decided to sneak off and join a game being played...at the state tourney where Seth was playing!! Funny now...not so much when I heard Blue call time and ask where did the kid come from?
Caden Jackson Swancey was an awesome athlete but many did not know that Caden was also very Tender Hearted. Many nights were spent by Caden bottle feeding a baby kitten trying to help it live, or helping me round up coats for the homeless or Christmas for kids that were going without. He would always end up with a friend that had been picked on...and if you really wanted to see Caden get angry...let him catch you being a bully!
Caden learned true loss in 2020 when his good friend, Dillon McCoy beat him to the Pearly Gates. He struggled desperately with guilt because Dillon had invited Caden to spend the night and go to the field early the next morning...the morning of the wreck. Caden didn't get to go and felt he let Dillon down. The feelings of guilt only got worse when he learned of the passing of another friend. Seems his friend had reached out but Caden's phone was shattered and he always felt had he gotten the message maybe his friend would still be here. The love Caden had for his family and his friends was visible in every aspect of his short life!
A beautiful, anonymous group started the McCoy-Swancey Spirit Award that has been presented the past couple of years by the Mp Bulldogs Baseball team. My wish is that you would please give so that the memory of these two young men will continue to serve as motivation for many years to come. I have decided that each year for the week leading up to Caden's BD, we will do something to make him proud. July is National Bereaved Parents Month and August 3rd is Caden's BD. So... in honor of yor kids...or in memory of ones gone Way Too Soon... Please and in Advance, Thank you....(PS... I would Love to see us have enough to start a similar award for the wrestling team as the other young man was a wrestler)
