One thing that all the amazing technology that we enjoy has not been able to do is to allow us to turn the clock back.
J.R. Storment and His Son Wiley
Eight years ago the Storments became parents to twin boys. At the same time Mr. Storment became co-founder of Cloudability. No doubt a very exciting and eventful time for the family.
About Wiley
As a five-year-old Wiley like many kids of his age had already decided that marriage was going to be in his future.
He had picked out his bride to be as he courted her during his time in kindergarten. Wiley and his little love were separated within the next two years when Wiley and his family moved to London then to Hawaii.
However, the two young ones communicated by letter. Just before returning to Portland, the little lady via letter proposed to Wiley which he accepted.
A Child’s Dreams
Although Wiley suffered from a mild form of childhood epilepsy, he was full of dreams and plans for his life.
His big plan though was to start a business. No set plan as to what the business would be as it changed regularly. It could be anything from a gallery to building spaceships. One thing that didn’t change however was that Wiley would be the boss. He would practice this role with having the rest of the family “work for him”, never “with him”.
The Day The World Changed for the Storment Family
Mr. Storment, while attending a meeting at his office, received a phone call from his wife with the heartbreaking news that Wiley had died.
Wiley had passed away in his bed as a result of a complication of the childhood epilepsy. While his twin brother was sitting in the same room playing on his iPad.
The Heartbreak That Followed
The words that Mr. Storment had just heard his wife speak threw him into a state of shock and turmoil as he took steps to rush home. He was so distraught a colleague had to drive him.
An Agonizing Wait
To add to the sadness, Mr. Storment was not able to go to Wiley’s side as an investigation was taking place to confirm the cause of death. The 2.5-hour wait was agonizing.
Dad Gets To Lie Beside Wiley One Last Time
Finally, the family was allowed to be by Wiley’s side.
They had about thirty minutes to spend with Wiley before he was taken from his home as his father stroked his son’s forehead through the body bag.
A Message From J.R. Storment
Mr. Storment wrote an open letter on Linked In to share with other parents a lesson that he learned too late.
As a self-recognized workaholic, Mr. Storment has a message for every other parent. The message is:
Hug your kids
Don’t work too late
Do you have meetings scheduled with your kids like you do at work?
Don’t miss out on the things that matter
The take away from this aside from the heartbreak and tragedy of it all is the words of J.R. Storment, “But I believe in the words of Kahlil Gibran who said, ‘Work is love made visible.’ To me, that line is a testament to how much we gain, grow and offer through the work we do. But that work needs to have a balance that I have rarely lived. It’s a balance that lets us offer our gifts to the world but not at the cost of self and family.” Source: Linked In
But perhaps the words with the greatest meaning is the title of Mr. Storment’s open letter, “It’s Later Than You Think”.
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