was the night our house burned down. It was a night of terror that I hope my family and

I never have to go through again. We literally escaped with the clothes on our backs.

Even though it was the most horrifying thing that ever happened to us, it was also the

beginning of many miracles and revelations.

I remember arriving home from work that night around 12:30 a.m. and found my

two sons waiting up for me. We talked for a while and had a bowl of homemade chicken

soup. The kids wanted to stay up late and enjoy their Christmas presents, but I could only

think of getting to bed. After throwing a load of clothes in the dryer, I tucked my boys

into bed. My oldest son Erick Jr. put up a little bit of a fight about having to go to bed

because he wanted to watch his brand new television set. Looking back, it was his small

measure of rebelliousness that would eventually save our lives that night.

I was awakened at 2:00 a.m. by Erick Jr. telling me that he smelled smoke. I was

half awake and without my contact lenses, I had a hard time stumbling out of bed and

Some topics in this essay:
Erick Jr, Ashes I’ll, front door, i’ll forget, erick jr,