3morrow.org, The Story of the Crosley Jane Buchner Foundation
Friday morning, we arrived back in Indianapolis at about 5:00, came home, cooked, relaxed, and got ready for one more day of appointments and working with our team. I’ve written before about our time zone management, we try and get an extra hour or so of sleep on the return trip east, it’s actually 4:24 a.m. MT when I’m writing these words, we need a day to recalibrate when traveling east.
Through tragedy comes charity, and I’d like to share a little story about a young lady that lost her life. Her family has continued her passion for life through a new charity called 3morrow. I’ve written about Crosley Jane Buchner before, a young lady that had a routine surgery go horribly wrong, she lost her life at the age of 7, a devasting loss for her family and community.
Her parents have formed a new charity to help children follow in Crosley’s passion for life. They based this charity around the life of their daughter, her love’s, what she enjoyed. She loved summer camp and so much more, and so 3morrow is sponsoring children to attend Camp Crosley in 2020. There is more to their work if you want to learn more, visit 3morrow.org.
Think for a moment how you would feel if you lost a child. I can’t begin to understand the pain, heartbreak, and suffering that one would experience, I can’t imagine that level of loss, parents should not bury their children. I attended Crosley’s celebration of life, I wrote about that experience, I never bring back my old word soups, but in this case, I think my writing about my experience might help you understand the meaning of 3morrow and so without further ado, here is my tribute to this amazing young lady. Please think about giving whatever you can to help keep the memory and passion of Crosley Jane alive.
3morrow, Trying to Find Reason in a Reasonless Situation
"Those we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch."
I attended a celebration of life for a 7-year-old girl yesterday. Let that sink in. A celebration of life for a child that was seven years old. I arrived a little early, thought I could grab a seat in the back, but as I pulled up, I saw a friend and his wife. We walked into the church shaking our heads. How does this happen?
I took my seat in the church and watched as hundreds of people slowly entered, most with tissues; this was going to be emotional. After a few minutes, a friend and his wife came in and sat behind me. We had a good chat; funerals are a good place to see old friends and catch up.
The ceremony started with a song, Jesus Loves Me, and then a pastor spoke. They are trying to bring some reason to a reasonless situation. I never met the young lady, she was my friend’s granddaughter, but what I know from yesterday is that this child was an angel. They had a video from her school where everyone in her class had a little message of remembrance; this kid helped others with their homework. She was a bright light for others to follow.
At the end of the service, the child’s father took to the podium. I can’t imagine how one can do that after losing a child, but there he was, calm, collected, and wanted to share some thoughts. I was moved by his bravery and ability to share his memories and love for his baby girl.
The one-story I thought we all might be able to connect with our lives occurred in Disney. They had had their first day, a full day and after returning to the room, the child, I think she was three at the time, said: “Mom and Dad, what are we doing tomorrow?” Their parents, blessed by the power of Disney, had their agenda and painstakingly went through the next day, hour by hour. As they put the young lady to bed, she asks, “What are we going to do threemorrow.” The parents were a little confused? “Threemorrow?” Yes, the child responded, what are we going to do “Threemorrow”?
I’d like you to begin using this word to honor this child. I’ve never thought about the simple wordplay, but she did at three years old. So, from now on, the day after tomorrow shall be deemed “Threemorrow.” I’ll use this phrase in my life, and it will allow me to share the story of this amazing young lady.
Another important note about yesterday, I spend the first 48 years of my life not shedding a tear. I didn’t cry; I was not emotional; I could take any situation and power through. But a year ago I joined a men’s group, a group of men that meet monthly and I’ve watched very strong men cry. It’s allowed me to let go a little bit and so as I sat there yesterday, I cried. I had tears, I had a tissue, and it was not shameful.
If you are a man, it’s ok to cry. It’s ok to show your emotion, and in a situation like yesterday, it was not hard to be emotional. So today, hug your kids, hug your neighbor, hell hug a stranger. Life is short, and we never know when it might end. Life is beautiful and full of angels. Sometimes those angels get to heaven a little early, and those that are left behind get to hold on to the memories left and hang on to the understanding we will see them again.
Tomorrow I’ve got a full day of meetings and conversations. Threemorrow is another full day, and Fourmorrow will be packed as well. Thank you, young lady, for the gift of a new word and the impact you had on our world. We will never understand why some folks leave the show early, but their brief presence gives a legacy for eternity.
"Those we love never truly leave us, Harry. There are things that death cannot touch."