It's hard to describe the emotional part of the weekend - sadness, anger, and helplessness hits each of us at different times and in different ways. We do our best to carry on with the tasks at hand, but idle time, reflective time, can start the waterworks and Dan, Erin, and I each took our turn. It's a balancing act to stay busy enough to keep the mind occupied, but not so busy that you wear yourself out. Like everything else in our world, this is a work in progress.
As for the activities, we kept things moving with a basketball tournament, some time with family, and emptying out our family room in preparation for the remodel. Erin and the Spartan 6th graders enjoyed another tournament championship in Faribault on Saturday. Fun to see Erin working hard on the court and smiling on the bench. Coach Olson even ran a sweet set play for her, allowing Erin to score on a great backdoor layup. That one was for you, little E.
We had dinner with Dan's brother Tim and wife Suzi on Friday and lunch today with my brother Eric and his family. We're trying our best to keep in contact and share a little bit of ourselves with family when we feel up to it. There are no words to ease the pain that we all feel, but just eyeballing each other sometimes helps.
Today was a busy day of preparations - moving 11 years worth of stuff off the family room shelves and removing all the furniture so the remodel project can start bright and early tomorrow. We're excited to get it going.
Finally tonight, Dan and I tackled another "first" in our journey. We went to see the Rebels play. Shannon's #9 jersey was hanging behind the bench. Those parents and girls were happy to see us. The Rebels pulled out a 3-1 victory tonight for their third win in a row. They've survived a rocky stretch and maybe they will find their mojo just in time for and end of the year run. A bond has been formed amongst those families after what they've been through together. Just another little gift that Shannon left behind. She'd be proud of them.
