Remembering Erik Mason

A beautiful send off. So loved and will never be forgotten 💙

Happy Birthday 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

I first met Erik through Katrina, during their early years together. I remember her mentioning how they had met, and since then, he was a constant in her life. He was thoughtful and caring.. I can still see his giddy face when he shared plans to propose to Katrina lol. I wish I would've expressed to him how much I admired him as a parent- that if I was a parent myself, I’d want to raise my kids how he was raising Niko. He was present, supportive, attentive, playful, etc… it was evident that raising a confident, and emotionally intelligent son a priority. (Niko, you gained a pretty awesome guardian angel!) Erik and Katrina’s relationship taught me something I’ll treasure. They had coincidentally both lost their mothers the same year, and were able to understand each others’ grief in ways that others could not. While living with that grief, they still found joy and love in life. I hope we can all carry that in our own lives- the lesson that sorrow and loss can and, perhaps, should co-exist with joy and happiness again. So Erik, we will miss you! I hope to honor you by making Katrina and Niko laugh every now and then. Oh, and I’ll make sure Uncle Elias practices Spanish with Niko so Niko can stay in touch with his Mexican roots. Until we meet again, rest easy. —Angie

I may have to borrow some of Erik’s cool, original words in this. That he either taught or shared with me. I’ll put them in quotation marks and CAPITIALS, so you know which ones they are. Erik humbled me. We are the same age. He educated me. Most importantly of all….he saved my life on more than one occasion. I wish I could have returned the favour! More than anything I’ve ever wished before ever. I was caught between two lives when I found him and his work. I was at a crossroads between two different identities. The life I only ever knew, while I was growing up. And my original beginnings, before I was given up at birth and adopted. I had reconnected and reunioned with my birth Mother back then. I was receiving counselling. And she was teaching me about herself. My birth Dad and their brief but by no means less significant relationship. This was back in 1983 on the south coast of Bournemouth, were I was made and born. It’s a risky, dangerous time….coming out of the adoption FOG (Fear, Obligation, Guilt). You can quite easily find yourself stuck or trapped between two worlds. The ‘what ifs’ and the ‘should I be grateful?’. Two things can exist simultaneously. They aren’t exclusive or independent of one another. Erik knew this. And voiced it, loudly. As clear as anyone. I never heard or seen anyone be so strong and bold. We adoptees are fiercely loyal and sensitive to all feelings. To those who show they care, like we do. To our loved ones! To ourselves(often we come last sadly). We leave no one person or individual behind. If we can help it. Just knowing Erik briefly through comments and screens. The man. The husband. The father. The friend. The teacher. My hero. Knowing he was on the other side of the world. Putting in the hours of reading, research and effort….for all us neglected souls. He gave me huge reassurance, comfort and confidence…that I wasn’t alone. Alone in my hurt. Or alone in my search for my old history and truth. I wasn’t the only man or person who needed these answers. That Erik shared and swapped and handed out regularly. Like sharing his own food or money. Alongside his love and support. “EXULANSIS” (definition) :- The tendency to give up trying to talk, about a personal, significant, experience. Because others cannot relate. You think you can’t make real friends, or forge real connections or bonds online? Or across vast oceans and continents?? Think again!!! Erik is proof to me that you can! I’ve never looked backwards since. It’s “MIND-BOGGLING”, to think of his actual impact on me. On many of us. Kind, gentle, intelligent, compassionate, hardworking, driven, selfless, good natured, giant hearted, gorgeous man and human being! I say all this, with zero hesitation or doubt or fear within me. And I’ve had many struggles with love and connections in my own life. Alongside showing honest emotions as a male. Never again, cheers brother! X We shared common experiences. Common interests. Common traits. Swapped messages and resources. We gave each other full “RESPECT” and full love ❤️. As true friends and survivors. Although he knew me much less, than I did him. He is with me everyday. He is with us all every single day. Don’t ever forget it! Super strong. Supremely smart. Sensitive and insightful….all the way. I have had a reoccurring image, since we last shared words with one another. Of a Martial Eagle. Standing tall, in the top of a massive tree somewhere. Overlooking a vast world and open landscape! This is just the beginning of my life. I am 42. He saved me. I owe him the world. This is the beginning of all our lives, no matter your age or where you find yourselves!! That’s what he, Erik and the Eagle represent! I am here for all his people. If they ever need another healthy adoptees’ perspective. I have his name tattooed on my foot. The first body art I ever considered getting. I carry him everywhere I go. Maybe one day, you can do the same. And you’ll never be far from one another ever!! Hold him in your heart with light and love always. Let’s try to change and reverse the old generational traumas. And turn them into positives where we can start to create more generational talents, like Erik. A true pioneer. Thank you mate. Thank you for everything Erik. Everyday I will talk to you. You’re still teaching me now. And I know you’re listening and paying attention. I love you bro!!! ♥️☝️. For Erik, Anna, Niko and all his family and people. In real life and online. XXX

Thank you for gracing this cruel world with your beautiful family, and also with the impactful truths you shared with us. We are better for having known you, even if only through the screen. Rest in peace, rest in comfort. We won't forget you nor your family ❤️

Erik’s Artwork

No matter how much time passes, you will always be a part of us. These memories remind us that love never fades. We miss you every day, and we will carry you in our hearts forever. You were, and always will be, loved. Rest in peace, brother.

I have never known a life without Erik in it. He was placed with my family when he was a newborn and I was only 11 months old. Growing up he was my constant playmate, and we always had a special bond. Before bed, we would clamber across the couch and scale the bookshelf to avoid the lava that covered the ground. During the day we often swam or played baseball in our backyard. We had to utilize "ghost runners" during the game because it's almost impossible to have a 1 vs. 1 baseball tournament. Somehow, we made it work.       His final year of Highschool, and my sophomore year of college, we lived together in an apartment. My parents wouldn't pay for cable, so we would go to Blockbuster and look through the discount bin and find new movies to add to our collection. Because of our search for cheap entertainment, we were introduced to The Master of Disguise, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. We had so many inside jokes, and we often acted out the opening scene where Jay sings in front of the gas station. I was Jay and he was of course Silent Bob. Sometimes I called him lunchbox because of this movie. I would make him homemade waffles, we would go for walks or watch movies when we weren't at school. I was so proud to call him my brother. I was always so jealous of his perfect skin color, while my pale legs show every bruise. I happen to be pretty clumsy, so there was always at least one fresh bruise at all times. I hated to see him sad, but he always told me that he felt better after talking to me.       He rode with me when I moved to California because my parents didn't want me driving alone. It was an adventure, and I was so happy to share it with him. We were there for a while, and almost every weekend he was at my apartment. Eventually we both moved back to Georgia, and when my husband and I bought a house he rented a room from us at a super cheap rate. A couple years later our mom died, and we struggled to find out new normal. She was our comfort blanket, the tangible thing that we could always count on for comfort.        Erik eventually moved back out west. Essentially,  Georgia is a greenhouse full of allergens for him. I missed him. I knew that he was better away from all the histamine producing vegetation, but I missed him a lot. I visited a few times and we talked often, but not as much this past year. I'm not sure if it's because he didn't want to bother me, as I homeschool my six kids, or if he was preoccupied with Niko and his endeavors. I'll never get to ask him. I'll never get to say, "Become another person," with Dana Carvy's accent, and know that he totally gets the reference.         As far back and I can remember, he was my little brother. I felt a responsibility to take care of him, one that i lovingly accepted because he was mine. I feel like I failed him. I have never known this life without him, and it feels like a part of me will never be the same. I pray that the Lord uses this for His glory. Mary had to watch her son, Jesus, suffer and die, while being mocked and humiliated. Death is so painful for those that are here, but without it, we could not live again. I pray that Erik is experiencing God's glory. I'll be there one day too, but for now I am trying to figure out how to be whole when a part of me has been lost