It's been another busy week around here. Does it seem like I say that a lot?
Volleyball is in full swing - uniforms have been handed out and a fundraiser has taken place. Team sweatshirts have been ordered and tomorrow it's time for team pictures. Next week their season begins with two matches already!
It's funny to see Erin jumping right in to being a Mayo Spartan. We always assumed her big sister would be there to show her the ropes, but that wasn't meant to be. So, Erin will figure it out on her own.
Now, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Erin is still in middle school and that meant today was schedule pick up day. I see some familiar teacher's names on Erin's schedule and that makes me happy. We've had such good experiences with these teachers at Willow Creek, and I suspect this year will bring more of the same.
So Erin's schedule will keep her busy with English and Social Studies, Life Science and Linear Algebra, and throw in a little Health, 21st Century Technology, Band, and Phy Ed for good measure. After that each day she will ride the activities bus to Mayo High School for volleyball practice. Home in time for dinner and homework, then get up and do it all again...
I have been busy with book stuff - writing captions and finding the photos that will appear in the book. Hard to look at the photos in sequence like that. When I look chronologically at the 64 images that appeared in this blog in a year, they tell their own story.
Fall is in the air now, school will be starting soon, and hockey tryouts are approaching. Just last year, Shannon was preparing for all of it. Now, her friends carry on, and we watch and support them the best we can.
The highlight of this week for us was a visit from Dr. Cynthia Wetmore. She was in Rochester and made time to see us. We hadn't seen her since saying goodbye on a rainy day in Memphis last December 22nd.
Erin, Dan, and I enjoyed re-connecting with her in person. As Dan said to me later, "She is a cool chick." We all talked about Shannon, of course, and then Erin filled her in on volleyball and middle school. Cynthia talked about the research they are doing at St. Jude, and Dan and I brought her up to speed on the book.
Dr. Wetmore will be a part of the book project, providing a foreword that speaks about the horrible disease that took Shannon's life, and the need for research.
Dan's right, by the way. She is a cool chick. I'm glad to call her a friend.
