Our Spring Break week will come to a close tomorrow, but we've packed a lot in: a trip to Vegas, three days of work for Dan, a trip to the Mall of America for me and Erin, a sleepover for Erin at a friend's house, and we will finish it off with a volleyball tournament tomorrow. Uff da.
You will all be happy to know that Erin followed through on her offer to help me improve my wardrobe. The trip to MOA was more about me and less about her and all those hours she's spent watching "What Not To Wear" came in handy! All kidding aside, Miss E was very helpful and we really had a good time shopping. Best purchase of the day - some kick ass boots. (Erin already asked to borrow them, so that's a pretty good endorsement!)
We were thinking back to last spring break when we made ourselves go on vacation for the first time without Shannon. That was a struggle. We were in Florida trying to find our rhythm as a family of three, and we were still reeling so from our loss and still so emotional.
This year, we can honestly say we are doing better. It's never going to be over, but we talk more about Shannon in happy ways now. We are gearing up for next weekend's St. Jude Fundraiser, and we are excited to share our update about Shannon's cells and the foundation. I'll also get a chance to read from Determined to Matter and raffle off a couple of copies to be sent out as soon as I get them from the printer. All good stuff.
We're doing better, no doubt, but we still catch ourselves thinking about the "what if" every now and then. Dan and I are watching the Twins game tonight and they just showed a young lady who is spending her 21st birthday with her dad at the Twins game in Baltimore. Dan and I talked about how that would have been Shannon. Shannon also had a tradition of going to Twins games on her birthday - I think we did it for her 10th, 11th, 12th, and of course her 13th birthday with Grandma and Papa in Oakland.
So, little moments are hard sometimes, but the big picture is pretty happy for us. We are healing...
