TRIGGER WARNING.. The story below contains situations about death, substance abuse, suicide and somewhat graphic descriptions.. I acknowledge this may be difficult or possibly triggering for some to read. Please do not feel you need to. The point of this page is to share a small part of my personal story that inspired the idea behind End Eternal and The Last Words Kit.

If you’ve made it to this page, you’ve probably got a good idea of what End Eternal is all about. But what inspired this idea?

My name is Dayton Guenther and I live with my wonderful girlfriend who loves rainbows, butterflies and interior design. Along with my two beautiful children (8 and 4 at the time of typing this). The older of the two, my daughter, loves watching tv, drawing, coloring, playing video games, singing and dancing. My son loves being outside bug hunting, treasure hunting, swimming, playing sports and anything that will get him dirty. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful family. Life is a beautiful thing.

When I was in the second grade, I remember being called to the principles office. As I nervously entered the office, I noticed my twin brother and a few of our closest friends. We soon learned that our other friend’s mother had passed away. She was very close with my parents so this hit us very hard. But at that age I was very confused as this was the first time I had experienced death. It was so sudden.. She was just at our house a few days prior to pick up her son. The only thing my friend and his father had left of her were memories and personal possessions.

As life carried on I experienced more impersonal deaths. Not to sound unsympathetic, they were just not a part of my personal life. Fast forward to my high school years, where I met my soulmate, my parents divorced. My mom drifted away from me and my brothers for a few short years after. My dad ended up moving to California. I was still a senior in high school. Choosing to finish the school year with my Class of 2014 friends, my girl friend’s mother offered to let me stay with them. I’ll never forget that moment.

In 2017, my girlfriend and I were at her aunts house. I was asleep after a long day of work. I soon woke up to a nightmare. My girlfriend’s mom had committed suicide. After hearing this news, I drove us to her house to find the property surrounded by yellow tape and flashing lights. It was real… Her abusive boyfriend sat on the porch while she laid in the driveway with a sheet covering her. This was life shattering. My severely distraught girl friend was devastated and so was I. The next morning, after a long night of disbelief and drying tears, the detective called and reported that her abusive boyfriend had inflicted the same life-ending act upon himself.

No notes from her. No keepsakes she wanted to pass down. No record of her favorite memories. No messages that she had written to her loved ones. Nothing of sentimental value or legacy was left behind other than personal belongings in the house. All we have are the memories we are able to remember and some pictures. We cherish those things dearly.

A few years later, I rekindled my relationship with my mom. It was never really the same but I was more than glad to have her back in my life. She went through a few traumatic situations due to her lifestyle change since the divorce. She was lost… she missed our family. The sadness she held from the divorce grew and grew and manifested into a few bad habits. These bad habits inevitably exasperated the intensity of her depression. Her depression has ultimately led to a handful of suicide attempts.

My siblings and I have always been there for her. Physically and emotionally. After finding her in a run down, pitch black motel room in complete disarray, pills scattered across the floor, empty bottles of alcohol knocked over on the entertainment center, vomit all over the room and her clothes, we attempted to talk her down and console her. The sight of the room and the blank and hopeless look in my mom’s eyes sent chills down my spine. Another image in my mind that I’ll never forget. But I knew there was still hope. As my brother and I cleaned up the room, my sister ran a bath for our fragile mother. After all of the substance abuse that took place, she was unable to walk. I picked her up as she once held me when I was a baby and brought her to the bathroom for my sister to give her a bath. When they exited the bathroom, my brother and I had all of her necessities packed. The room was as clean as we could get it. We all hugged her very tight and reminded her of all of the beautiful things we’ve experienced together and of what she had to look forward to. She was now a “Glam”-mother. She has more to live for now. More love to give and receive.

Completely traumatized by the things we had seen, we took her to the nearest hospital and informed the staff of what happened. She was admitted, got the help she needed and is now living a healthy and happy life.

All of these experiences over time have led me to ask myself, “If I died tomorrow, what would my children and loved ones have left of me?” I’m not talking about the things I own, not the money in my bank account but the words that I may have never spoken. What words they might need to hear one day in the future, what my favorite memory was, what the best advice I ever received was, what my values were, what kind of man I was… I truly think that is more valuable than anything else I could leave them with. I know from experience that that is what I’ve been left wanting from the loved ones who have left too soon in my life. So I created a fully equipped kit to prevent that from happening.

The end is inevitable, sad but true.. but if we are intentional about what we leave behind before we depart, then maybe it will be a little easier for our loved ones because they would have the essence of “you” forever. Because what truly matters is us. Our experiences. Our relationships. How we make people feel, how they make us feel and letting them know it. How we treat one another with love, decency and respect. The memories we share with each other that will never be forgotten and the impact we have on each other’s lives that shape us into who we are…. That is what I believe life is about. That is what End Eternal is about. Preserving and honoring life.