I vaguely remembered Simon playing some sort of trading card game with his buddies when we were newlyweds. He needed to bond with the guys and I was happy to see him enjoy an activity that was so…wholesome. Some men go to bars or clubs in their downtime; Simon stayed up late with straight-laced college buddies perfecting strategies to gain power for make believe characters in pretend worlds. Gosh, I loved that man and his sexy, nerdy ways.

Fast forward to last week when our son asked to buy some Pokemon cards with his tooth fairy money. Laughing, I figured we would have to comb eBay for the outdated fad but apparently the game has made a comeback and cards are readily available at stores. As I was finishing the umpteenth load of weekly laundry in the garage last night, a small box on the top shelf caught my attention. It read Pokemon Cards. The box was covered in dust and had a silverfish skeleton hanging off the side. I slowly opened it, preparing for more creepy, crawling insects to jump out. Instead, there were two hundred pristine Pokemon cards in protective sleeves. Cue the waterworks. My son was getting his Pokemon cards. Way more than what his tooth fairy money could buy. And they were coming straight from his dad. This had been important to Simon. He had saved those cards all these years for sentimental reasons.

Our son was thrilled and then fired off his questions. Was Dad good at Pokemon cards? Did he say which ones were his favorite? Did you pay attention to the last time he played so you can teach me his strategies? I wasn’t much help but I did follow up with a few of Simon’s friends and learned that Simon bought most of the cards during his sophomore and junior year of college. He even played in tournaments at Toys R Us on the weekends to improve his technique. I love that. I love that the man I loved and the father of my children spent his weekends with his family, at church, or, as I just learned, playing in Pokemon tournaments at toy stores.

Nine months after his death, we continue to learn about who Simon was and it just keeps getting better.