Growing Pains Kamren Sicard Most if not all men will forever complain about those awkward teenage years where they felt so awkward about everything, but I can tell you my years were far worse. Among all the growing pains I had to deal with, the loss of a loved one would have my world come crashing down upon me and shock me to my core. It was freezing on the morning of February 15th. I remember waking up at my grandmother’s house and seeing frost on the windows, I knew that it had snowed again last night. I raced to get dressed and ran towards the door, but the smell or warm pancakes and bacon grease filled the air. I immediately diverted my attention from the snow to the food, because what twelve-year-old boy doesn’t love food. I meandered into the kitchen; my grandmother looked over at me with a smile. “Well, somebody is in a rush, huh mister.” I giggled in response. “I saw there was snow and got excited” I said with a massive grin. “Well clearly the snow didn’t stop you from making a quick food break.” I laughed and began to devour my pancakes. I wanted to go outside so bad, I was basically running out the door before I even finished my last bite. “Be safe. I’ll be out in a few minutes with your sister after I get her dressed.” My grandma threw in quickly before I dashed out the door. February 2015 was the year of the thousand-year storm, where basically all New England was thickly coated with at least three feet of snow. I pranced out into the snow wonderland; the air so crisp it hurt to take a breath. I spent my day traveling the yard as if it were the Antarctic, conquering hills like they were mountains, and seemingly discovering new areas as if nobody had ever been there before. My sister and I had begun to freeze through our snow suits and returned inside for a steaming cup of hot cocoa. We walked inside and stripped the snow coated suits off ourselves, and trudged upstairs after our long adventure. Two warm cups of cocoa sat on the table awaiting our arrival. I ran to the fridge to add a little bit of milk to cool It down before I drank. As I drank the cocoa, I felt it warm every inch of my body. It was like a wave of
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heat rushing through my body. It was only six o’clock, but we had school the next day, so it was time for us to head home, but my grandmother had a change of plans. “You guys will be staying with me for a little but longer.” She spoke. “Why?” my little sister quickly interjected “I don’t quite know yet, so I will let you know when I find out.” We stayed until like eight o’clock and then my uncle came over to take the ride with us. I had a weird feeling, but I thought nothing of it. Roughly an hour later we arrived at a hospital, and I had no clue of what was yet to come. We walked through the front door of the hospital, the news of my father being hurt, the whole place smelt of antiseptic, it made me nose sting. We walked into a waiting room where my entire family stood in wait, all looking like they had seen a ghost. I knew something bad had happened. Then the doctor came in with my mother and took me and my two sisters into a separate room. He then stood aside so my mother could tell us what is going on. She started tearing up before any words had left her mouth. She took a deep breath and began. “So, your father had an accident today, while he was shoveling… we don’t know quite how it happened, but he had a heart attack, and he passed away.” The room was silent for ten seconds. It was like the air had been sucked out of the entire room. We all looked at each other in awe. “They did everything that they could to try and help him, but they couldn’t bring him back.” I immediately began bawling my eyes out, I had felt like I got punched in the stomach, fighting for every breath. I was fighting tears while my mother hugged me tightly, my mind had not yet comprehended the pain that would suffocate me for years to come. I could never quite wrap my head around what had happened to my father, as he was in great shape, and was only forty-seven years old. It just never made sense to me. He left us far too soon and with way too many questions as to what happened that dreaded day. His passing was not only a shockwave to our friends and family, but it also devas-
