Nicholas Floriana
Nick was my first born. When I was pregnant with him, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. He came into the world weighing 11# 8 oz. I can remember thinking over and over that I finally had my baby that I wanted so badly. Nick was a happy baby. He just went with the flow. Justin came along 2 years later and came home on a monitor due to concerns about SIDS. Nick must have thought we were paying too much attention to Justin, because his Dad was in the basement and Nick jumped through the laundry chute to go to him.
He loved to make people laugh and play jokes. He, Justin and I were driving down the road one day. I asked them if something ever happened to their Dad or I, who would they want to be with. Nick said one person and Justin said another. I asked if they didn't want to be together. Nick said "No, if I want to see him. I'll call Unsolved Mysteries".
Nick had a heart of gold. I was in a store during the Christmas season and Nick went to the owner and asked her if she had any work he could do to earn some money to buy his Mom a Christmas present. Tears immediately came to my eyes. He had the opportunity to ask his Grandma or Dad for some money, but he chose to work for it. The shop owner told him he had a job and he went and worked for her. Our newspaper covered the story and needless to say, I was bursting with pride!
Nick did very well in school. He loved being in JROTC at Springfield High School. He had to be to school early almost every day to practice, but it paid off. He was very good on the drill team.
He changed quite a bit after graduating. It seemed like he was always doing things at the last minute. I talked to him over and over about slowing down, but at that age, they think they are invincible. On August 20, 2003, he was taken in an auto accident. He didn't have any ID on him. The State Trooper located my husband at his work. I heard the dog barking and went to see who it was. I opened the door and their stood my husband with tears streaming down his face and the Trooper behind him. I knew at that moment that Nick was gone. I remember screaming "NO! NO! NO! My GOD NO!". I prayed all the way to the coroner's office that someone had stolen the truck from Nick and that it wasn't him. Going to the coroner's office and seeing and identifying my son was like a scene out of a bad horror movie. That vision is engraved in my memory and will not go away.
For the first year and a half following his death, every time I heard sirens I had to call all the kids and do a safety check. I tried to make casual conversation so they wouldn't know what I was doing, but they caught on and I had to stop. I used to love to go sit in his room to smell his scent and to feel closer to him. I love having dreams of him. The night of the showing at the funeral home, something made me check my messages on my cell phone when I returned home. There was a message from Nick. He just said "Hi Mom, I am going to Aunt Carols. I'll talk to you later. I love you." When I checked the date, it was from 3 weeks prior and was just showing up. When I tried to save it, it disappeared.
There are so many things that remind me of Nick. Every time I see a chubby baby, every time I see puppies and fish, birds, ferrets, Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" Album , the JROTC drill teams, his leather coat, a yellow mustang because he always wanted one, garlic because he added it to everything he cooked, a computer, Navy recruiters, panda bears because he loved buying them for me, a quick witted person because Nick was too, parasailing, beaches, dancing, laughing, joking, pranks, big girls because he loved to tease me and them, cow prints because he saw a shirt in that pattern and told me I should get it, flowers because he went with me and helped plant them every spring, exercise videos, orange Tommy Hilfiger jackets, braces, snakes, sand, big brown eyes, beautiful smiles, rainbows, diet Pepsi, red Trans am's, applications for loans because one time he wanted a car so bad, "HE" went and got ME a loan, the screen name BOBCAT, Super Petz, fish aquariums, Northwest Ohio Developmental Center, Grandma and Grandpa's grave site, University of Toledo, the RIPCORD at Cedar Point, Universal Studios, Disney Land, the Strawberry Festival, clubs, scary movies, UPS, Ft. Meyer's, FL, contacts and so many more.......
Our hearts ache every day for the loss of our Son. Some days are absolutely unbearable. Some days we manage to get through without tears. There is NEVER a day when he is not in our hearts. A day does not pass that I wonder what accomplishments he would have made or what he would be. I have made it my mission to keep Nick's memory alive and I will do it. I will kiss his precious face every evening till the day I leave to be with him. He is my Angel.
Sherry Kimbler
Nick's Mom
