Relay For Life, 5 Year HS Reunion, and Father's Day 2011...

It was another jam packed weekend, which began on Friday evening with the 2 hour drive home to PC, then Mom and I headed to my former high school (which is now a middle school....weird) to join my bro and his co-workers for the annual Relay For Life. It was great running into old friends, eating some yummy food, including grilled veggies (courtesy of my bro...I was super impressed that he actually grilled up some veggies in addition to his typical stockpile of meat! lol), walking some laps, and socializing in general. Then, once it started getting dark, luminaries were lit, someone sang "You Raise Me Up," and a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" while he walked a lap around the track. It didn't take long for the tears to start flowing as memories of Dad filled my head. Luckily, I pulled myself together after we walked the silent lap around the track, but it was definitely an emotional night. Despite the sadness that it evoked, being a part of Relay was really a powerful thing. Seeing so many people joining together to honor their loved ones while raising funds to fight cancer was awesome!

The next evening was my five year high school reunion! It's so weird to think about the fact that my classmates and I graduated from high school five years ago! Shew, where does the time go? It was nice catching up with my best friend and her husband, as well as all of my other high school friends who attended. It will be interesting to see how everyone has changed by the time our ten year rolls around!

Then, there was today...Father's Day. Not surprisingly, since January I had not been looking forward to today at all,....plus tomorrow will be 5 months since Dad left us. I realized over the past few weeks that Father's Day isn't just a day that you have to prepare for, but more like a season. For the past month or so, every time I walked into Target (I usually go there about once a week), it was impossible not to walk past the Father's Day greeting card aisle and be reminded of the fact that for the first time, Jon and I wouldn't be able to send a card or gift to Dad for this holiday. That was one of those things that I always took for granted until this year....something as simple as a card, ya know? Then, of course, there were the abounding radio commercials every morning as I was getting ready for work or driving in Sunny II (thankfully I don't watch TV enough to have seen too many commercials on there). Now please don't get me wrong, I think Father's Day and Mother's Day are wonderful holidays to celebrate, it's just that I never realized until this year how difficult such holidays can be for those who have lost special people in their lives.

Luckily, today was far better than I imagined it would be though. Getting to spend most of the day with Mom and Jon was definitely a blessing and I am incredibly grateful for the time that we were able to spend together. I wasn't looking forward to the 2 hour drive back to RVA, but my playlist of Josh Groban, OneRepublic, and Parachute helped me to chill out and also offered a good soundtrack for thinking and reflection. After anticipating a tough evening alone with just my thoughts, I got a text from a close friend asking if he could take me out for some Sweet FROG as a pick-me-up. That was certainly a welcome change in plans that I accepted without hesitation. Long after we had devoured the tasty fro-yo, we ended up spending several hours just sitting and talking, and before we knew it, they were closing the place down! So, all in all, Father's Day 2011 was difficult, but also far better than I could have expected. I know that's because God was at work in providing comfort to us today, as He has been throughout the entire grieving process up to this point, and it's even more comforting to know that He has blessed our lives with the most amazing family and friends to love and support each other during times like these. Many heartfelt thanks to each one of you out there who may be reading this, and please know that I am always here and eager to return the favor whenever you need someone to talk to or lean on. Love you guys!