You probably expect something really witty or clever or at least profound today. Why? For one, I have gone way longer between posts than usual, and for the other, yesterday kicked off National Childhood Cancer Awareness month, which is obviously something worth writing about.
I think you might just have to keep expecting because I'm not feeling it.
In fact, I have put off posting more than once in the last week because I didn't have a suitable re-entry post after taking a hiatus (word gift for Becky S.). I finally decided to try the toe-in, foot-in, ankle-in approach, since I didn't have the inspiration for a plunge that would make a splash. If I do it innocuously enough, maybe you will forget that I was a slacker for approaching 20 days.
Last week, Erin's peeps all started ninth grade. It didn't really sink in until one day this week. I was sitting at the traffic light at FM 2818 and Leonard Road waiting to turn left towards home. It was about school dismissal time, and I was eying each car that past through the intersection, looking for familiar faces. It surprised me that I didn't recognize anyone, even though most of the cars were clearly coming from Jane Long Middle School. Then I had the V-8 moment, complete with forehead slap. My friends (students and parents) were on a different route, coming home from the high school, not Jane Long. It felt really weird to realize that most (but not all) of my connections to that school were gone, moved on.
I didn't have a huge amount of time to ponder the great river of life, other than to confirm that the flow keeps moving on. The last two weeks I have done my absolute best to imitate a cricket herder. Every day I stuffed my crickets into boxes, only to have them promptly jump out. Eventually, I did get my courses in order so that I wasn't embarrassed on the first day of class. I survived the hottest soccer tournament I have ever coached (even beat the Austin Labor Day Tournament of 1999). And, on Tuesday, thanks to so many folks around the country, we launched our Kids Cancer Fight radio PSA campaign (click the link to listen) and the supporting website KidsCancerFight.org. You can like us on Facebook, too.
This all started last March when an unprecedented number of childhood cancer organizations (national, regional, and local) responded to an invitation by People Against Childhood Cancer (PAC2) to meet and think of ways we could all work together. This campaign was one way we all agreed to cooperate. The PSA is running nationwide the whole month. If you have a childhood cancer organization and would like to participate, drop me a line and I'll see what I can do.
In closing, I will share a little graphic that I found on the internet. Apparently, if you are not thinking about lanyards, you are not maximizing your brain's potential (isolating your thinking to that small yellow part of your brain).
crickets. oh i like that, a lot. i've been busily.. well, interning in the stats office.. darn it that's hard! spending A LOT of $ reinventing my life in a way.. (note: i'm living on savings this year. i pray that i don't have to live on my savings for more than this year). as well as trying to get the fire back under the dissertation so my mom can hood me on 4 may (thus finally getting a title that i actually like.. because i'm 38 and SO tired of being ms. me.).. as well as finally cleaning my home. things got neglected for about 15 months after that horrible day in april 2010. how did you keep your home clean after your own horrible april day?? i don't know how people do it, but i am finally doing it and it's taking a lot of time (because there's a lot to do AND i am anal). so, crickets. that's what it feels like around here too. i just hadn't thought of it that way. thanks for that :).
ReplyDeleteps. word from my friend who took wands to a recent event are that people love erin's story. people took cards. you may get some orders for jewelry. one little girl bought a wand. i see my friend on Tuesday, we're going to talk more about the project. and i owe you $ for pr. corinne's present, which she LOVED. big bird around the neck of a (somewhat crazy) chaplain-in-residency in the peds wards at the mayo, gonna look simply fabulous.
Word gift for Becky S. duly noted. And appreciated! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd there are few days that go by when dropping Sarah off at High School that I don't think about Erin and the other NB kids who never got to be freshmen or sophomore. And it makes me so sad. And so thankful.
And by the way, since sophomore means "wise fool" I'm not sure that would have been a very good title for Erin. She was ever-so-wonderfully wise and ever-so-wonderfully wonderful.
Hi Vickie, I know what you mean about the flow of the great river of life. Except for some of the teachers and staff, and some of the parents with younger children, most of my connections with Laura's school, Rockaway Valley School, have moved on too. It quite takes you aback when that hits home but, as we sadly know, there is no choice but to swim on in the great river of life.
ReplyDeleteYou make it entertaining and you even now manage to help keep it wise. I cant wait to go through additional from you.
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