"Bryan has forever touched our hearts. Our friendship with Bryan all stemmed from a game of ping pong (or as the real players call it, table tennis). I met Bryan through work. Little did I know that Bryan and my husband Matt had a lot in common, especially the love of sports and competition :o) Matt met Bryan at a company Christmas party and the challenge of a game of ping pong was on! Both threatened the other.
After that we spent a lot of time in our garage playing ping pong. Then Bryan discovered that there was gong to be a Table Tennis Tournament in Reno. Bryan, Matt and our friend Bev all signed up. It was such a big deal that I could expect Matt to tell me that Bryan was coming over to practice ping pong, what almost seemed nightly. It was a regular occurrence getting prepped for this tournament. And competitions were taken seriously by Bryan and Matt. Those two would play and be exhausted and one would say this is our last game. But when that person lost...."ONE more game" was always the next words to be spoken.
Then the four of us, Bryan, Nichole, Matt and myself would hang out. I was honored to have their presence at my 30th birthday party. Of course, ping pong was played that night....we had our own ping pong tournament. You'll see in one of the pictures....they tallied the wins. Then it turned into a bracket....so winner took all.
Our children Paige (6) and Ty (4) grew a love for Bryan and Nichole. They always wanted to show Bryan something or show off in front of him. They painted him Christmas ornaments. One time we all were in the front yard throwing berries from the tree at each other! Then playing baseball with the kids. I can see he was a great uncle to his niece and nephews.
Matt and I play guitar (although I'm not that good)...and one night Bryan and Nichole came to hang out with us and we all played. We were PRIVILEGED to have been entertained by Bryan's awesome talent. He had us rolling with some of his songs. He was hilarious!! I'll never forget that night!
I wish our friendship would have started earlier. We were looking forward to so many things in the future with Bryan and Nichole! Trips to the lake, hanging out, bowling, etc. I'm just heartbroken that we lost such an amazing friend! I believe he had a purpose here and he fulfilled it....by bringing SO much joy and laughter to everyone in his life. He showed us what a person full of life looked like....him.
We'll never forget his sense of humor! There were so many things that most people wouldn't get, but he would. If I came into work quoting a skit from SNL or a movie....he would follow my lead knowing exactly what I was talking about where most others wouldn't.
In the short time he was a member of the table tennis club (we all are :o) [Nichole should sign up] he made such an impression on the other members. Before Bryan left us....he was beating the best player there. Bryan has this shot where he would hit the ball just right that it would just hit the net then fall on the other side....untouchable. We always called it the "Moseley Shot" and to this day, we still call it the "Moseley Shot". So many memories of Matt and Bryan talking nerdy table tennis talk....haha. I would always make fun of them. The members of the Reno Table Tennis Club want to plant a tree at the club site in honor of Bryan. To make an unforgettable impression like that....you know you are special.
My only regret I leave is that I didn't take more pictures of Bryan and the rest of us so we can hold on to all those great memories!
Bryan, we will forever miss you!! You gave so many people wonderful and unforgettable memories. Thank you! Until we see you again....
This was such a sweet and respectful post. Thank you so much for sharing. It was fun to hear about his new table tennis hobby!
ReplyDelete