When Kody was not in a depressive state, there were many fun sides to him. He could talk for hours about deep subjects. He created beautiful art in his own special ways. But out of all his fun moods, I especially enjoy the memories of mischief. Kody had a bit of a trickster spirit and loved to joke around when he was in a good mood.
For example, after receiving cat butt magnets for Christmas one year, he proceeded to place one on the fridge in every home we visited that season. One of these still hangs on his sister’s fridge a tribute to Kody’s silliness. These magnets were a wonderful gift for Kody as he often struggled with the holidays and with seeing all the different members of his family. Not because these people were difficult to be around, but because he was so afraid to look like a failure in front of them. The magnets gave him something to look forward too at each house.
On hikes out in the woods, Kody would get a wild hare and sprint off into the forest. Pretending he was going to leave me there all by myself. I would play into this game most of the time, chasing after him even though I hate to run. Pretending to get mad that he was leaving me behind. So much faster than me, he would typically loose me for a moment and then when I caught up, he’d skip a little further down the trail, staying just out of reach. Eventually, he’d let me catch up to him. I would wrap my arms around him so he couldn’t escape again. He did this many times and it would always end with us laughing and laughing.
When we walked the centennial trail, he would start arbitrarily skipping, trying to get me to do the same. I am extremely uncoordinated as a skipper, which is something he thought was extremely funny. He loved to skip far ahead. Bounding down the path and plucking one of the cattails from the side of the path. In the spring, he could break these up into soft white and grey puffs of pollen. He would spread it all over the path and attempt to get it in my hair. Over and over, he’d play the same jokes, but they always made us laugh.
When I remember Kody, the memories of mischief are some of my favorite. In these moments, he didn’t have a care in the world. Kody being his true joyous self in each of these moments, fills my heart with happiness. I still hear his laugh echoing in the memories of those moments. He had the best laugh and a smile that was so contagious. Kody at his best.