Love, specifically, parental love, is said to be the most powerful, most unwavering, and most profound among the grand spectrum of this completely-and utterly-indefinable-but-completely-necessary human emotion. And Kelly and Jeff Lavers, who lost their son Tyler to carbon monoxide poisoning in December 2010, are the personification of this all-powerful parental love.
I know because I witnessed it.
As I sat with the Lavers on a warm October afternoon, they shared with me the joy, pride and awe of their son, as well as the pain, sorrow and sadness of his passing. I felt every bit, every iota of their love for him as if it oozed out of their pores, emanated with each of their heartbeats and mixed effortlessly with the warm October air. It was as palpable, as real as the trees dropping their leaves outside the living room window and the white, cottony clouds floating overhead.
They laughed. They cried. They remembered.
I was moved. I was humbled. And I, in that moment, was a witness to love.
See the story about how the Lavers are using their son as inspiration to educate drivers on the dangers of carbon monoxide in the January issue of Woodbury Magazine or at woodburymag.com starting January 1.
