Finally, i have a great memory flooding back of you. :-) I am remembering one christmas eve when we all opened presents and you started laughing. I looked over to see you holding up a pair of footy pajamas our stepfather gave to you as a gag gift. You  were always a good sport, you sported a huge grin , slipped them on and  let us take pictures. I think it was the best christmas yet. You were so short , you really looked like a little baby in them. I could not believe you went along with it. Thats what i loved about you, your sense of humor. I love you and i miss you. Merry christmas  chris. 

Love , your sister. 

As students pair off for Dr. Saghafi’s scientific research course, Christopher Hernandez saunters up to my lab desk, sits down and studies me like a Petri-dish with unleveled agar. “Hi, my name is Christopher; do you have a lab partner?” With a big, goofy grin, I hesitate, look away, and start giggling. [This was the first day I met him & as soon as I saw him I said he would be mine smirks]  He passes a note with barely legible chicken scratches that reads, “Do you have a boyfriend?” [ At that time I did so I worried that he would become uninterested ] He was shorter than I with cauliflower ears and muscular Popeye arms. I say, “yes,” and from then on he became my partner. [ I say “yes” to being his lab partner soon after we become more than just lab partners ]

 He courageously led me to believe anything was possible, even avoiding the consequences of almost burning the school to the ground. [LOL] We ran from the scent of charred paper and burnt dirt as flames grew in the microwave. Chris believed that microwaving dirt would inoculate it from native bacteria. He decided to put the soil in a latex glove box and I was in accord. Once we removed the blackened box, we laughed and blamed each other. Dr. Saghafi’s scowl looked to seek the incite-full student as I proclaimed, “Doctor, we just followed the directions in the book.” We hoped that killing bacteria would allow plant growth. By the end of the period, Chris and I made the school smell like burnt soil, while Chris allowed my courage to grow. I bared witness to his outgoing, confident spirit and ability to speak to any one and associate himself with everyone. <3