Johnathan Wurz

Let me tell you about the wonderful boy named Johnathan Michael Wurz, my son, and my life. Johnathan was as headstrong as they come, he knew what he wanted and he didn’t stop until it was his. He had a hands-on technical love of building as well as dissembling to understand the way something worked. He was the most inquisitive and intellectual little man who was happiest with a container of AA batteries for his Thomas the Tank engines. He would spend hours watching his trains go around the track and laugh at how many could run into each other and cause major derailment. He had a fondness of the snow, always asking if we could build a snowman, make snow angels, and climb the high drifts created after the driveway was plowed. 

His favorite thing to do in the world was going to Billy Beez where he could have free rein to slide and climb with his friends. Once in a while he would get scared when the slide was too steep, but I would climb right up there with him, and hold him tight as we both faced our fears. It got to the point where he wanted to go every day and I would have to tell him that the slides were closed. After a while, he would ask are the slides open today mama, and I couldn’t say no. 

He loved hot dogs and chocolate ice cream, although not together. Grandma had introduced him to Hoffman’s with cheese and he was hooked. Popsicles became a nightly treat after he took a bath and got his pajamas on. He was the biggest fan of cherry or red as he called them. 

We would often read books together and although we rarely got to the end, he was able to memorize certain books like Llama Llama and the Encyclopedia of Thomas the Tank Engine. His favorite movie was Angry Birds and he would laugh and laugh at Mighty Eagle as he peed in the Lake of Wisdom. 

He loved smoke alarms and would spend hours watching YouTube videos about different types and how they worked. Ever since there was a fire drill at school, he couldn’t sleep until I tested the smoke alarm in our bedroom. He could walk into any building and find the alarms and sprinkler systems. Making sure people were safe from fires was important to him. 

His love for others was tremendous and he had a knack for making people smile. We had a secret kiss where we would rub noses and give each other a quick smack on the lips, which made him giggle. 

One of my fondest memories was when he finally got to see Thomas the Tank Engine at the train station and he was dressed like a conductor. He danced with the other kids, took a train ride, and finally got to meet Sir Topham Hat. 

When he was first learning to speak he couldn’t pronounce his name so he called himself Sunshine. My mother and I would sing “You Are My Sunshine” to him since he was a baby and for a little while I think he thought that was his name. Whenever he would do something naughty he would blame it on sunshine. From that point on, whenever I see sunshine I think of him. 

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray.
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you,
please don’t take my sunshine away.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy, when skies are gray.
You’ll never know dear, how much I love you,
please don’t take my sunshine away.