The Clock Ticks a Little Softer

For the first time in a long while, I find myself just a little less afraid.

Maybe it’s the changing seasons—no more ice on the roads, warm sun through the windows. Each time I drive to the club, it feels a little bit easier. A bit more normal. But every so often, something still catches me by surprise.

The other day, as I was driving, a motorcycle passed me doing well over 100 miles an hour. It flew by just a couple of feet from my mirror—so fast and so close that I swerved involuntarily. I was on speakerphone at the time, thank goodness, but the adrenaline hit me hard. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. My ears got hot. My eyes welled up. I wasn’t scared for myself—I was scared for him.

Was his throttle stuck? Was he running from something? My brain didn’t leap to judgment, but to fear and sadness. The irony? This happened in the exact spot where Lauren and Brooks’s accident occurred.

That moment stuck with me for days. It pulled me back into reflection about these last 18 months—how far we’ve come, what’s still hard, and how healing sometimes just sneaks up on you. I’ve been trying to decide if things are truly better, or if I’ve just built new muscles around the pain. But what I do know—without a doubt—is that my sense of gratitude hasn’t diminished one bit. If anything, it’s only grown stronger.

That old gratitude post I wrote is the one that keeps cycling back into my head. It’s not just a feeling. It’s something alive inside me. The people who showed up for us—through texts, through coffee conversations, through prayer and kind words—are stitched into this story forever. I don’t think I’ll ever take that for granted again. And I hope I never do.

This will likely be the final update I post here on GoFundMe. If you’d like to keep following our family’s journey, you’ll be able to find future updates over on my personal site, bramscher.com. The story is still unfolding, just in new ways now.

And perhaps most exciting of all—Lauren is beginning to share her own story. She’s started writing again, this time for herself and in her own voice. She’s publishing on Substack, and I’ll include the link below for those of you who want to follow along. It feels like the right moment for that transition—from my voice to hers. I’ll still be sharing from time to time, likely about health and technology, two things I’ve always cared about deeply. Technology has been a lifelong passion; health is something I’ve worked hard to improve after years of being a workaholic. Now I’m finally finding the space to reflect more openly on that journey, too.

This is a shorter post than usual, but no less heartfelt. Thank you again for being a part of this story—for caring about our family, for asking how we’re doing, and for just… showing up.

Brooks is thriving in jazz and performed recently in Eugene—an incredible experience to watch. And Lauren and Jennifer recently visited a cooking school, a big step toward testing what being back in a full-time academic setting might feel like. It’s something Jennifer has dreamed of for a long time, and seeing them do it together filled me with pride. Even bigger news: Lauren is heading back to college this fall. She’s been accepted and will be attending school in Hawaii.

Of course, I’m thrilled for her… and nervous for me. It’s hard knowing she’s a flight across the ocean, but I know this is the right next chapter for her confidence and growth.

So, to each and every one of you reading this—thank you. Truly. Your support over this last year and a half has meant more than I can put into words. I’ll drop the links below if you’d like to follow along with Lauren or read future blog posts from me.

With gratitude,

Craig

Lauren’s substack: https://substack.com/@laurbram

My Blog: /