Boy, lots of Shannon moments for me today as I work on various projects. And for Dan, too, there was a Shannon moment. He's on the road and was telling a new customer about his family for the first time. It's a hard thing that will never change for us. In twenty years if we meet someone new who asks about our family, well, it will still be a hard thing. We try our best to accept that this is how it is. Sometimes it still seems unreal...
My Shannon moments today were all related to good things. First up was a check in at the RAC about our the book event hosted by the Thrive Sports Shop. We are gearing up for what we hope will be a great event for all our Rochester supporters. (Shameless self promotion here - remember the mark your calendars for May 30th) This will be the first chance to buy the book, and details are coming soon on how to reserve your copy.
My second Shannon moment revolved around another event - the first annual "MGG Swings for Shannon". (Another shameless moment of self promotion - save the date for July 22nd) It will be a 4 person scramble with profits split between the Mayo Girls Golf program and the Shannon O'Hara Foundation. We had our first planning meeting today, and it's heartwarming to see the support from these girls and their families. Lots of good ideas and people willing to help, so we are off and running.
After all that, I came home to find a box of book promotion flyers had been delivered. Opening up the box and seeing that picture of Shannon - 250 flyers with the cover of the book on them - made me take a moment. That picture brings a tear to my eye, but not for the reason you might think. The picture reminds me of my sweet girl, of course, but it's come to represent the process of writing the book for me, too. In that context, that picture is a symbol for me of our attempt to keep the spirit of that girl in that picture alive and to do something good in her memory. My life from here on out has to have meaning so that her life meant something, too.
That picture was taken by our friend Mary DaRos at the Sheryl Crow concert on Mother's Day, 2011 just 3 weeks after Shannon's diagnosis. It was a bit of cosmic luck that Mary was there with us that night - we were each invited by a mutual friend. And Mary, being a professional photographer, brought her camera. She asked Shannon and Erin if she could take some photos. And now one of them is the cover of the book. Cosmic.
Mary continued to offer her talent to chronicle our journey and now, she's sharing some of that portfolio on her website. You can check it out at: marydaros.com.
So, pictures of Shannon are everywhere for me today. Damn, she was a beauty.
