My Best Friend Since Kindergarten
For Will: A Memoir by Nathan Beck
“I remember it like it was yesterday. The first day of kindergarten was just around the corner, and class rosters had been taped to the front of the school. My mom came back to the car after checking the list and told me, “You’ll never guess who’s in your class.” She was talking about Will Hardy—my best friend. We had gone to the same preschool the year before, and I couldn’t wait to see Ole Willy again. From that point on, we were inseparable attached at the hip in everything we did.
Up to that point in my life, grief had been manageable. A breakup, a lost football game, the passing of elderly relatives—people whose time had come and whose deaths, while sad, were expected. With those losses, you can brace yourself. You understand that their best years are behind them and that they’re ready to meet the Lord.
But when the accident happened, I told myself Will would be okay. I thought it would just be a long recovery, and that one day, I’d have my friend back. When I finally understood that he wasn’t coming back, I didn’t know how to process it. I felt numb—like everyone else around him. It broke my heart to look his parents and sister in the eye, knowing what they’d lost. It crushed me to hug his girlfriend, knowing she’d just lost a faithful and loving partner.
I think about Will every day. Every time I fish, hunt, or head into the mountains, I feel like he should be there with me—living his young life and exploring God’s beautiful creation. For a while, it was easier to push those thoughts away and focus on the good still in my life. But as time has gone on, I’ve found peace in thinking about him. I’ve started to feel joy in his memory instead of just pain. Knowing he’s at rest with the Lord has been a major shift in my mindset.
Like when Kevin and I fire six shots at a group of mallards and nothing drops—we know Will is up there laughing at us. Little moments like that bring a smile to my face. It reminds me that he’s still with us, in a way.
It hasn’t been easy. I don’t think it ever will be. But I take it one day at a time. Lord willing, I know I’m moving one day closer to seeing him again, and that brings me peace. His parents already know this, but they raised an incredible young man—someone who always had his brother’s back. I don’t know a single friend of Will’s who wouldn’t go to war for him.
I love you, Will. I’ll see you again someday.
Nate”
Postscript: My Best Friend Since Kindergarten
Lord willing, I know I’m moving one day closer to seeing him again, and that brings me peace. His parents already know this, but they raised an incredible young man—someone who always had his brother’s back. I don’t know a single friend of Will’s who wouldn’t go to war for him.