1:23:48 – 1:26:15

This won’t be as good as it could have been, since I don’t have Caleb to edit my work.

When I walked into Mrs. Gentry’s fourth grade classroom on the last week of August five years ago, there was a child hugging his parents. At that point, I didn’t know the profound impact that that boy would have on my life. I didn’t like Caleb for the first year I knew him, and I wish I had. If I had known
that we only had five years together, I would have been more appreciative of what we had.

When he went back to Singapore for vacation, he decided to
take me on a walking tour, even though I was still in America. For the next few weeks, I would periodically get an email with a picture and a caption. The caption would usually be funny, and I learned a lot about the country.

Caleb did so much to annoy me, but those are the things I’ll miss. He would always ask rhetorical math questions to anyone who is near him. He also almost burnt his house down with a piece of bacon, something he tries to deny soon after. I know you did, Caleb.

However, most importantly, he always cared. He always lived large. He packed more into his thirteen years and ten months, than most people fit into their whole lives. Caleb published three books, and wrote two more. He continually asked me if his writing was any good, although he was a better writer than I will probably ever be.

All his work was always done in class. When I had just started my homework when I got home, he would be texting me and asking if I wanted to play a game or do something. He was a great designer, athlete, director, actor, comedian, and so much more.

If Caleb were here, he’d thank you all, even if he didn’t know
you. He was kind, considerate, and a great human. I will miss him. We all will miss him.