As parents we all know how to worry. Boy did Jack make us worry sometimes. Will he cling to Jeanine’s leg or cry for an hour at Park Street pre k drop off again? Will he be ok with his new sister Anna coming home...of course he loved her immediately. We tried not to worry when Charlotte a few years later arrived, and Jack at the hospital insisted he be swaddled like a baby too.

We didn’t worry when Jack, Anna and Charlotte started building forts out of couch cushions, but then every year more ropes, furniture and two story multi room creations started scaring us at xmas time.

By 11 or 12 yrs old we thought he could walk home by himself for the first time. We waited almost an hour worried sick. He strolled in explaining he had to stop off at Wendy’s to get something to eat on the way.

Through many trips staying with friends in New Hampshire, Jack fell in love with Sunapee and being in the woods. Our worry got a bit more interesting with Jack sleeping in a snow cave during a storm with his friend Jake.

And many weekend mornings ensuring Lake Sunapee ice was thick enough at the Prindles for the boys to be out skating. At 14 he repaired trails on the Appalachian Mountain Club for a week. What’s to worry about as we went to pick him up. Some of you have heard this story of Jack going for a last hike that morning by himself and losing his way....8 hours later, dark out and a collection of state troopers, police, firemen and one heat detecting helicopter on its way...Jack called his mom from a dam 12 miles away to explain he was fine and had climbed trees a few times to try and see where to head and had bushwhacked his way out. He said he wasn’t nervous about being lost, he just knew how much we would be worried.

Jack as a big brother added another dimension. Will he actually take care of Anna and Charlotte on the plane flight to grandma’s for a week most summers. Will Jack bring Charlotte and her friends back safely from a climb to the top of Breckenridge to ski down from 13,000 feet. Will he drive slowly when picking up Charlotte from school. Will Jack make sure he and Anna came back safely from their tree skiing at Mt Sunapee of course it all worked out well.

Somehow Jack survived Uncle Greg and Aunt Beth’s zip-line, Aunt Alicia and Uncle Dave’s Trampoline, Aunt Katie’s rocking climbing, fast drives to BB&N, Begley Boy wrestling and boxing, PopPop magic meatballs and all manner of cooking, eating and fun with his south end crew and fraternity brothers.

At 16 Jack and I did a great trip with the wilderness institute near Mt Baker. I was terrified as the guide lowered Jack into a crevasse to practice rescue skills, but his smile as he made his way out proved Jack wasn’t worried at all.

At 18 he went to Alaska for a month with NOLS. He was asked to lead half the team for 5 nights on their own at the end of their trip. I think that’s what solidified his decision that his work would never be sitting in an office. Through AMC, the Wilderness Institute and NOLS he met so many patient and smart guides. And realized what he also loved was learning, teaching and helping others.

As any parent would, we worried when Jack went off to college at CU Boulder and even more when he called to explain how he and his fraternity brothers were building a beer die table.

But let me share a snippet of Jack’s CU Boulder application and why he loved the wilderness.

“My feet dangled off a rock that dropped at least 200 feet, and we were surrounded by mountains. In that moment, in that intimidating environment, I felt strangely relaxed. Everything else faded away. I had nothing to think about except where I was, in that moment. I loved the feeling of being able to tune out the everyday bustle and just appreciate the outdoors.

This feeling is what keeps me coming back. Through the rainy hikes, the cold nights, and setting up tents in the dark, the outdoors is where I feel most relaxed. Even through the wet marshes, the radiant sun, and many twisted ankles, the outdoors is a place where all my worries can be cast aside. The trees, mountains, and streams temporarily push the obligations of school, sports and home to the back of my mind. There is nothing like the sense of relief that this gives me.”

Jack’s adventures caught up with him last summer while water skiing, so he’s been home with us most of the last year recuperating from arm surgery. Beacon Hill folks saw a lot of Jack as he worked at the Charles Street hardware store. But the arm got better and the last few months Jack and Anna could be seen over at the BSC working out together most days.

The good news I suppose is that we weren’t worried about Jack the last time Jeanine, Charlotte, Anna and I spoke with him. We didn’t expect to hear from him during the trip, but Jack found one chance before leaving the NOLS center to facetime us. He was happy, smiling, and quite proud of completing the wilderness first responder program, it was on to the back country for a few weeks.

I like to think that if you asked Jack where he’d want to be and what he’d want to be doing when it was time to go... he might say with all of his family, but we know, he belonged right where he was last Tuesday, content in the wilderness which brought him so much peace.