5-year-old Brian Kelly’s dad is an Air Force captain. The two love spending time together, their bond making simple activities such as doing yard work more special and enjoyable. Unfortunately, Capt. Dan Kelly was called overseas. Brian was devastated and according to his mom Barbara, he just started weeping upon hearing the news.
It would only take 6 months, but to a child who loves his dad as much as Brian does, half a year feels like forever.
What the family didn’t know was that their neighbor, Dean Cravens, would always watch the father and son bond over yard work.
What he didn’t know was that little Brian was quite the observant one, too. He found out one day when the little boy surprised him by knocking on his door.
Dean told CBS Evening News:
“Nobody ever comes to our front door, so I was like, OK, who could that be? And you could see him through the window, it’s Brian. And I just looked at him and I could tell he wanted to do yard work and I said, ‘Sure, meet me around the garage. We’ll get some tools out and go.'”
Brian’s visit went on for six weeks. Dean fondly describes the situation as Brian “taking it upon himself to adopt me to do the yard work”.
Despite Dean having a day job and a family of his own, he never turned Brian away.
He knew the best thing to do was to make time for the little boy missed his father terribly.
While it would be perfectly understandable if Dean spoke to Barbara and explained how he had a lot of things to take care of himself, he decided to cherish every moment he and Brian shared.
“I just like to see the smile on his face and see him happy doing it.”
Capt. Kelly’s commitment to his family and his country is nothing short of admirable but so is Dean’s decision to stand as a father figure for Brian while his real dad was away. For grown-ups, it may be just a cute and simple gesture extended towards an innocent child but for Brian, it’s so much more than that.
The happy and grateful mom of the five-year-old says,
“He’s just there to help Brian get through the days. He’s ‘absolutely’ filling in. That’s exactly what he’s doing.”
Those who commit to serving the country sure sacrifice a lot.
It’s never easy being away from your loved ones and having to stay in a place where your lives are almost always at risk. But it’s not easy being the ones left home to wait and wonder, either.
Thankfully, there are kind and thoughtful people like Dean who make it a little easier for Barbara and Brian who spend their days waiting for Capt. Kelly’s return. We’re sure the Air Force captain is more than grateful to have a neighbor who genuinely cares for his family.
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