So with Erin and Jen locked in on the Grammy's I snuck into seclusion to write about a really pretty terrific weekend. We hung out with friends, skated, took in a Rebels playoff game, went to church, hung out with family and watched as Erin's Spartan 6th graders took down the Owatonna Invitational. Way to go Smiley!
Over the course of three Spartan wins Sunday, Erin logged minutes at all 5 positions - including post and point guard. No wise cracks, please. Of course, she's the first O'Hara ever to play the post...come to think of it...she's the first O'Hara ever to run the point (not counting her mom who was not yet an O'Hara when she played point guard for the Rochester John Marshall Rockets a million years ago). Good Yucks. Good wins. More hardware for Smiley's Spartans.
Saturday night when I tucked her into bed, Erin expressed a slight tinge of guilt for laughing and having fun. But I know Shannon would approve. I know it. Still, it is odd to separate from the sadness. Even for a short time. We all know that separation is temporary.
I wanted to take a minute to update various fund raising efforts that we are grateful to associate with and proud to have Shannon O'Hara's name attached to...
- The paperwork has been submitted to establish an account for the Shannon O'Hara RYHA Scholarship Fund. If you want you can send us a check made out to the fund and we will get you tax documents. But we will also need RYHA to accept donations on our behalf for monies raised through the sale of goods and services. Our goal for The Shannon O'Hara RYHA Scholarship Fund is to begin awarding grants in 2013. Lots of work to do to get this account fully funded.
- A friend, Darla Hershey is a consultant for a group called Partylite which sells scented candles and other cute little home trinkets. She will be having an Expo on February 18th and 19th and 50% of her funds raised will go to the Shannon Scholarship Fund. Darla can be contacted at hershey13300@hotmail.com or you can friend her on Facebook.
- Jen and I taped a radio interview with Julie Jones on Fox Country 102.5 to talk about St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital - this station is doing a Country Cares for St. Jude's radio-a-thon February 18th and 19th. Check out www.1025thefox.com for more donation details...
- There is another local group raising funds for St. Jude's - and we are humbled that they have asked us to allow them to name their event for Shannon. The Zumbro Valley Bassmasters is part of a group that has been raising money for various causes for 14 years. They recently started directing all their monies to St. Jude's. In 2011 they wrote St. Jude's a check for $152,000! Mark March 31st on your calendar for the 7th Annual Spring Fundraiser - this year honoring Shannon O'Hara. The banquet will be held at the Rochester International Events Center and tickets are $40...raffles...door prizes...silent auction items...even some Shannon shirts for sale...and a great meal delivered by Joe Powers team. Contact Dick Dorman for banquet ticket info....coosa216@msn.com ... or 507-951-4294 ... March 31...they have room for about 400 so hurry...
The kid said she wanted her life to mean something to someone someday...
The cards, notes and reminders keep trickling in to us from people that knew Shannon and many that didn't but have been impacted by her life. I wanted to leave you tonight with an excerpt from a neighbor's note to us about Shannon...it just came today...and it touched us very much;
"Even from my distance, this whole episode has been a tragic reminder that love is always a setup for heartache. It hurts to fall in love with someone who doesn’t love you back. It hurts when your teenage kids push your love away for the independence they need to take on life without you. And, it dearly hurts when someone you love dies. But, this untimely loss of your precious little girl who seemed to embody all of life’s most positive energies in one tiny package is too much to bear alone. That’s what I’m trying to say: you do not suffer alone. No one can help the fact that you bear the most pain, but Shannon is missed by people she was barely even aware of in her wonderfully busy life.
I think love is worth the pain, though. I hope you can feel that way. I’m profoundly thankful to you for bringing Shannon into our lives, and bringing so much happiness to hers. Shannon enriched everything and everyone around her. She still does."
