The A La Carte

A couple of months ago, I stumbled across an ad asking people to nominate someone in their community who deserved a new roof. My first thought was immediately of my sister, Nicole, and brother-in-law, Chris.

Their roof is original to the house. It’s been needing replacement for years, and it’s something we’ve talked about more than once.

So I filled out the nomination.

I told their story.

I wrote about 2024, a year that seemed determined to throw everything it had at them. In March, they lost my nephew. Just months later, Chris suffered a horrific work accident that left much of his body burned and required months of treatment at Harborview, that is still ongoing.

While most people would have every reason to step back from the world, that’s not what they did.

Nicole kept doing what Nicole does. She continued volunteering, first through Relay for Life and then by becoming one of the biggest champions of small businesses I know through BNI. She hosts events, connects people, raises money for nonprofits, and somehow always finds room to help someone else.

Chris had one goal through his recovery: get back on the baseball field.

Baseball is life for Chris. More than anything, he wanted to be standing down that first base line coaching the Seattle Studs again. The day he was physically able, that’s exactly where he went. Not because he had to, but because that’s who he is.

Then, on a Tuesday evening, just two days after another tragic day for my own family, my phone buzzed.

It was a message from the Halo Project and the roofing company.

Chris and Nicole had been chosen.

I just stared at my phone.

My mouth literally dropped open.

I honestly thought these kinds of contests had to be rigged. Surely nobody you actually know ever wins something like this. Certainly not because of something you submitted.

I read the message three or four times before it finally sank in.

They really won.

Even now, I’m still a little shocked.

But the more I think about it, the less surprising it becomes.

Of course they won.

They are two of the kindest, most generous, and selfless people I know. They give without expecting anything in return. They show up when people need them. They build community because they genuinely care about other people.

Sometimes life has a way of giving back.

This time, it looked like a new roof.

And I honestly can’t think of anyone more deserving.