I have only been lucky enough to know the Patterson family since June of 2011. This beautiful scene above was on one of those river trips that Craig loved so much. Kaya was fascinated by the hand washing station and how that ordinary old soup can was transformed into a "faucet". Quietly watching the way that Craig spotted the curiosity in Kaya and joined her was one of those precious father/daughter moments to cherish. This was one of many moments where I witnessed the pure love and devotion Craig had for his family. There was rarely a time when you could not see very large smiles on all 3 of their faces. Granted it was on the river and what is not to smile about.
There are many things about Craig, the way that he approached other people and life in general that I admire greatly. His genuine love for his wife and daughter was paramount in everything I saw him do. He also had a love of learning and a respect (almost awe) of watching someone else do something that he admired and his hunger to learn more! Example... although I did not know Craig well, I know that when we first met he was relatively new to rafting. Rather than a typical macho "I am outdoorsy and can figure this out for myself" kind of attitude he went to work becoming a student. It was heart warming watching him consult and ask Jamie's opinion on not only how to approach an oncoming rapid but how to rig the boat, what the recommended gear was etc... What a wonderfully confident and genuine person to "pick the brains" of those who had previous experience that he could learn from. It was exciting to watch! I saw this same love of how things work when he came over to our house to have some work done on his trailer. He was so gracious and sincerely interested in the process. And thankful! The funniest part of that was that Jamie was so excited to have a project to practice his newly acquired welding skills and Craig so thankful for the improvement on his trailer that they thanked each other a bottle of whiskey!
In June 2012 we had the pleasure of spending another week on the river with the Patterson's and a whole bunch of kids! If I remember the minors outweighed the adults by 1! Craig and Renae's boat was the Kid wagon and known to have the best songs, dances and a hidden bag of candy that Renae pulled out at just the right time! Towards the end of the trip, the little girls had all been relocated to another raft (probably Burt) and Craig and Renae were rewarded with getting the BIG GIRLS! Ruby, Georgia and Mary Grace (pre-teen and teens). broke out into a bit of a mini-war over a sponge animal, I think it was nap time for the big girls at this stage. Mary Grace recalls that Renae played a little bit of peace maker (as the older kids were acting like little kids:-) ) and Craig quietly went to work getting them as quickly as possible to the next meeting spot. When they pulled up, I think that Craig may have been off the raft before anyone else saying in a quiet voice.... Beer... Beer.... Poor guy!
We will treasure the moments always! More pictures to come...
Tina
James "Jamie", Mary Grace and Maya
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