Brains Together For a Cure Walk - Sat. Oct. 1

One last reminder... tomorrow morning is the 10th annual Brains Together For a Cure walk. Weather looks great!

Erin will be walking with her volleyball teammates, I will be walking with my parents and Dan will be running with friends.

You can register on site tomorrow morning. Hope you can join us.

Here are the details:

For more info, visit: http://www.brainstogetherforacure.org

Friday September 23, 2016

Ah, the life of a high schooler... Up early, up late, always tired, sometimes cranky... and it's only week 3 of the school year!

I tease, but Erin school year is off to a great start. She likes her classes and classmates. She's got a heavy schedule with AP Lit, AP Physics, AP Econ, Honors French and Math Analysis (Pre-calc).

Add to that, student government (affectionately known as Stud Gov), debate team and volleyball... I guess there's a reason she's up at all hours to get everything done.

Erin's JV volleyball team is fun to watch. They are a talented bunch. When your varsity if full of talented players, there's a trickle down effect to JV. Erin gets lots of playing time, which makes the games fun for all of us.

This week, Erin also got to take part in a "Superfan" day.  Each school in the Big 9 Conference got to send a group of student/athletes to meet people from other schools and promote good sportsmanship and school spirit. These students were chosen by coaches to represent Mayo HS.

Next week brings another high school milestone - Homecoming week. There will be dress up days, two home volleyball matches, a coronation pep fest, a parade, the football game and, of course, the dance.

So, the fall days speed by... From where I sit, it all looks fun.

Join us: Brains Together for a Cure Walk/Run - Oct. 1, 2016

A frost warning in northern Minnesota this morning means fall is definitely here. Still some warm, sunny days, but the cold morning air foretells the future.

One fall activity we have taken part in the past 5 years is the Brains Together For a Cure annual walk. The first year we took part, Shannon was with us...

Shannon came to the walk from hockey tryouts and after the walk, we went and watched her play soccer... 3 months later she was gone...

I have to remind myself of those details from time to time. I want to remember her in full stride like she was on that October day. At her soccer game that afternoon, she headed a ball and then looked at all of us on the sidelines and smiled her beautiful, playful smile. The girl with the brain tumor finding humor in the absurdity of her heading a soccer ball! That day was Shannon in a nutshell.

Brains Together for a Cure is a local organization and all money raised funds innovative brain tumor research here in Rochester at Mayo Clinic. 

We will take part again this year, but with a new twist -  I will walk and Dan will run. BTFAC is celebrating 10 years, and they have added a 5K/10K run this year in addition to the 5K walk.

If you are free October 1, come join us. 

We will make a $1000 donation from the Shannon O'Hara Foundation in Shannon's memory, thanks to all of your support.  Hope to see you there.

To register, visit: Brains Together For a Cure

9/11

We never visited New York before 2009, but in our handful of trips there since, we've come to love the city... Dan and I went for the US Open in 2009, then we took the girls on Spring Break 2011 - that was the last trip before the music changed with Shannon's diagnosis...

Since then, we've been back to NYC with Erin for a surprise fall weekend, Erin went there on her 8th grade class trip, and in the summer of 2015, we were there again for a family wedding. Walking the streets of Manhattan, there is a vibe like no other. And last summer, we expanded out to exploring Brooklyn and Queens... so much to see and do and experience.

Erin has interest in going to school in NYC... I hope if that's what she wants, we can make it happen...

September 11, 2001 was a normal day here at the O'Hara household. I was a stay at home mom with two small children - Shannon was 3 and Erin just 5 months old. I kissed Dan goodbye as he headed out the door to travel to Iowa. I poured myself a cup of coffee and settled in to play with the girls while the Today Show played in the background... you know what happened next...

9/11 showed us the evil that's in the world, but also the humanity. At the time, I didn't completely comprehend how this event would change the world, and change our little world as well. Dan worked for Williams Oil at the time, and just 6 weeks after 9/11, he lost his job. That holiday season, we had two small children and no jobs... our first real challenge as a couple...

Yesterday, Dan and I celebrated 22 years of marriage, which is no small feat given the storms we've endured... let's be honest, 22 years of marriage is no small feat regardless!

So, today is a day that we remember what is important: the people we love, the kindness of others, the freedom we have.

"Time flies over us, but leaves it's shadow behind." - Nathaniel Hawthorne

First Day of School 2016

And... just like that, she's a junior...

Emily, her friend since 4th grade, gave Erin a ride to school. When you are a junior in high school, you ride with your friends to school, not your mom. I get it. She need me less and less these days... as it should be...

The first day of school pictures are always so fun to see. Social media has made us voyeurs into other people's lives. In this case, it's a good thing...

I always feel a little melancholy at this time of year. Another school year is another marker of the passing of time. I felt that way even before Shannon got sick and passed away. Now, it's even more poignant as another year she didn't get to experience...

That thing about social media? Facebook has been giving Dan and I some gut shots lately. We were posting a lot of photos 5 years ago... and the Facebook algorithm is making them pop up on our feed. Yesterday's flashback was from 5 years ago, the first day of school 2011.

                         

Shannon's last first day... a not-so-gentle reminder to enjoy what's here right now. I try to remember that each and every day...

So, the 2016-17 school year is underway. Fall is such a crazy busy time for Erin with volleyball, student government planning for homecoming, debate... oh yeah, there might be some homework in there, too... 

I'm ready to support and cajole and do my mom thing to push her along... even if she needs me less and less these days, she still needs me...

Saturday September 3, 2016

Say what you want about cancer, but it sure can bring people together...

Yesterday afternoon, I watched my friend Kula ring the bell, signaling the end of her radiation treatments. Yet another hurdle in her 9 month (so far) battle against breast cancer. Her infusions of Herceptin continue for several more months, and there is reconstruction surgery down the road, but this was a big hurdle to cross...

Dan and I arrived at the Jacobsen building and had a chance to see the treatment room where the proton beam radiation took place for Kula. Some serious flashbacks for me and Dan... I couldn't help but notice the plaster radiation masks lined up on a shelf. Each one symbolizing another person fighting this damn disease...

But  yesterday wasn't about Shannon. As I said, cancer brings people together and Kula's family and friends gathered for happy hour to signal the end of radiation. A room filled with love and gratitude. When someone you love is righting for their life, you realize how small the small things really are... all that matters is love and friendship...

Labor Day Weekend is upon us... summer coming quickly to a close. Volleyball season is already in full swing. Erin's playing libero (defensive specialist) for the JV team this year and is also on the varsity roster. They had two good wins against quality teams to start the season. The best part is, it's a great group of girls who care about each other... as I said, love and friendship...

So, we'll enjoy these last few days before the school year starts... junior year... time moves so quickly sometimes...