Am I ready to survive the last few weeks of summer chaos?
Tonight I will be attending a fundraising benefit for Tyler Smith, a young man in our neighborhood who lost his battle to cancer earlier this summer. His legacy is well represented by his incredible family, as they remain committed to pay it forward and help other young ones continue their own cancer battles. For more information, please visit f2tf. Am I ready for the emotions that will most certainly arise, especially when my eyes meet Tyler’s mom?
Saturday, Nick’s high school class has invited us to come to their 5-year reunion and share with them the work of WACKY. We’ll set up our booth and brag about how Nick took his cancer journey and made a statement loud and clear that he would make a difference. Am I ready to look at his classmates without my heart aching, wondering what might have been for Nick? Am I ready to thank them for being such wonderful friends to Nick, giving him unconditional friendship and for not being afraid of the big, scary world of cancer?
Sunday is Carly’s farewell. She will give a talk in church then we will have a big party afterwards at our home. She checks in to the training center on the 15th. She’ll undergo intensive language training for three months and in mid-November, fly off to Sydney, Australia to serve a church mission, speaking Mandarin Chinese. She will be gone for a total of eighteen months. Am I ready to say goodbye to another child so soon?
Kelsey’s softball team wrapped up the season this past weekend, taking 5th in the Western Nationals. Am I ready to put away the umbrella, chairs, blankets, camera, the cheers, the boo’s, the gossip? Am I ready for the end-of-year party that will be held in two weeks at our home, including my favorite part of putting together the team season video?
There is a family reunion for the Brower’s towards the end of the month. There is another family reunion for the Balcom’s over Labor Day. Am I ready to address the myriad of mixed feelings of not living closer to our parents, wanting to capture the never-ending stories of our childhood (and theirs), wanting to be more supportive to their needs, wanting good health to bless them?
In exactly one month, the 5th Annual Wacky Charity Softball Tournament will begin. I’ll just put it out there as a fact that I’m definitely not ready. Yet.
Sometimes, life is like playing tennis when you stop to tie your shoe and your opponent serves up an ace. You’re like, “Hey, wait a stinking minute! I was just tying my shoe! I wasn’t ready!”
Actually – it’s all good. Really good. I’m ready.
