2000-2019
Patrick Michael Green
Early Years
When Patrick was 12 years old, we moved from Sydney to Cleveland. Because of his age, Chris and I thought the move could be a challenging transition for him. While it was definitely hard for him to leave his great mates and the sports that he loved playing in Australia, he surprised us with how well and how quickly he adjusted. He and the girls went to the same school, and I vividly remember their first day. It was a daunting feeling dropping them off; every-thing looked and felt so different. There was a sea of strangers and it felt as if we were in a High School Musical movie. We were certainly the only ones with an Australian accent. At pickup time, I waited with anticipation to hear about their day. I found Annabelle and Matilda, but we couldn't see Patrick. In the distance, there was a swarm of girls, who I could hear squealing and shrieking. As they came closer, I realized that Patrick was in the center of this circle of girls. We could hear them asking him to say different words and then screaming in delight at the sound of his accent! He looked over at us with a semi-confused look on his face, yet the biggest grin. In one sense, he was wondering what all the fuss was about, and in the other, he was totally lapping it up. It was as if he was a rockstar getting mobbed by his fans. He would say that his accent definitely worked in his favor over the years.
Grade School Years
Sports were new and exciting for him in America. He started with basketball, baseball, and skiing. In Little League baseball, he hit the most home runs in his age group, and he was an All-Star in Pony League baseball for the two years that he played. He became a great skier. He joined the Ski Club in middle school and loved the Friday nights with his friends on the slopes. On our family trips to the snow, he always skied the longest. He braved the difficult runs; the harder they were, the more he wanted to ski them. Before we moved to the US, he had never even seen snow. Each year, once it started falling and there was decent coverage, he was always the first to put on his winter layers and get outside. He and Matilda would be out there for hours; they didn't care how cold it was. Digging tunnels, building forts, sledding, and throwing snowballs, they delighted in the fun of it all.
High School Years
In his freshman year of high school, he was a triple threat athlete, playing football, baseball, and basketball. As a punter, he was a three-year varsity player, Special Teams Player of the Year as a junior, Special Teams Player of the Year for the Conference, First Team All-District as a junior and a senior, Second Team All-Ohio as a junior, and Third Team All-Ohio as a senior. He loved his Friday nights playing football. While I really enjoyed watching him play, I also felt immense pleasure observing him on the sideline. He was a talented punter, but I think the sideline was where he also did some of his best work. The relationships and friendships he forged with his teammates and coaches were special. I loved seeing him in conversations with them in between executing his role on the field. I can only imagine the banter and the language! His energy was contagious, and he was always one of the first to acknowledge a teammate's successful play. He was a role model for the younger players; he took time to chat to the water boys; he made everyone feel seen and heard. As a biased mother, I must also mention how handsome he looked in his football uniform. The all maroon with black and white detail was my favorite with his dark hair. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him play every sport he participated in. I was always captivated by his agility and finesse.
High School Years
He wasn't overly competitive; as much as he got excited about the big games, he equally liked the low-key times. He valued his friendships with his team-mates and coaches and enjoyed the experiences. He loved playing basketball in a local recreation league that was about camaraderie and shooting around for fun. He enjoyed meeting friends at the high school to kick the football around or going to the baseball field to smash balls as far as he could with Matilda and his mates; they called it "Hitting Dingers" and the "Home Run Derby." The basketball hoop at our house was often the gathering place for Patrick and his friends. I always smiled when I drove down our street and saw all the boys there. They were fun times, with lots of laughter and trash-talking. When it was time for a break, they would all come inside, walk over to the kitchen cup-board to get a cup, get a drink of water and chat away to me. I miss the boys being here. I miss the sound of the basketball bouncing on the concrete. "Tub Night" in our hot tub most Friday nights during winter became a regular feature with Patrick and the boys. It was a fun tradition for them.
Patrick loved people. He was the glue that brought friendship groups together. Many have joked that Patrick could juggle multiple commitments at once. In a single night, he managed to make it to several gatherings so that he could maintain his friendships across a four-year age span. From pre-school onwards, Patrick formed close connections with his teachers; I can recall many whom Patrick held in high regard over the years. He was equally able to build strong friendships with his fellow students. In his sophomore year, he was in the Homecoming Court, and in his last two years of high school, he was a Freshman Mentor (most only do this for one year). The Freshman Mentoring Program (FMP) is a leadership development program for juniors and seniors. Their role is to serve as a peer mentor to a freshman as they transition to high school. They assist with academics and lessons covering all of the topics that a freshman needs to succeed in high school. He was also very involved in the special needs program. He excelled in both of these roles. He enjoyed broadcasting basketball games with his friend, Michael. The two of them entertained the audience with their quick wit and charm and elected themselves as the Broadcasting Club's Presidents. In his senior year, he modeled in the Prom Fashion Show.
The Gifts From Losing You
For anyone suffering the loss of a child or a loved one, this part memoir, part self-help book provides hope and inspiration, with insights to help you navigate your path out of the dark, towards the light.
The Gifts From Losing You is a poignant chronicle that shares the Green family’s experience of their first year grieving the sudden loss of their only son and brother Patrick, aged 19.
Written by his mother, Sara Green, it is a story of personal tragedy, immeasurable love, heartbreak, and sadness, coupled with gratitude, courage, and perseverance.
Her reflections explore the themes of loss, shock, pain, acceptance, and eternal love. She focuses on how her family found a way to weave their grief into the fabric of their lives while opening their hearts and minds to the gifts bestowed on them. She discovers that deep despair and blessings can co-exist simultaneously in grief. This unique perspective has guided them in their healing, enabling them to live alongside their heartache. From her experience as a health coach, she shares the self-care practices that enabled her to cope with her devastating reality.