Major Great Time

Friday, July 16, 2010  Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO

For family and friends it was a spectacular moment to watch John throw out the first pitch.  For me, it was the overwhelming assurance of God to meet desires I would never dream possible. 

Just a little over a year ago, John and I were waiting for x-rays for his up-coming, unexpected heart surgery.  His head was hung low.  A couple of days prior, he asked me if he was going to die.  I was sure his thoughts had drifted back to that conversation.  I asked him what he was thinking.  "The Cardinals aren't going to take me now," he replied.

John pitches for his baseball team and is confident in the future, he will pitch for the Cardinals.  On that day in the waiting room, his confidence faded.  I told him that he would be stronger after this operation.  He told me I didn't understand.  He said, " I have had too many heart surgeries, they won't want me now." 

So, July 16, 2010 a year after his heart surgery, complications and still wearing a metal bar in his chest for pectus repair, John stepped up on the mound at Busch Stadium.  He shook off Cardinal's Pitcher Evan MacLane #62 once before throwing the ball over the plate. 

Our crowd of family and friends went wild!  John told me it was AWESOME to be up on the mound.  I told him his pitch was AMAZING!!!

Sporting no hard feelings for being shook off, MacLane signed the ball for John and made a forever imprint on our hearts.  Thank you God for giving John this wonderful opportunity.

Summer Camp for Rock Scars!

This past week, my son John (who has undergone three open heart surgeries) attended Camp Rhythm sponsored by St. Louis Children's Hospital.  It is a totally awesome camp.  All the campers are heart kids.  Many of the volunteers are their former nurses and doctors.  Some of the camp counselors are past campers themselves.  For a week, John and his camping buddies got to swim, fish, horseback ride and sing camp songs.  In addition to the ' normal campy stuff', they got to see, touch and dissect a cows heart.  

After picking him up and on the forty minute drive home, he told me all about it - in that special 12 year old boy way.  This is pretty much the conversation...

Me:  "John, how was camp?"
John:  "Okay, I guess."
Me:  "Did you have fun?"
John: "mmm hmm"
Me:  "So what all did you do?"
John:  "I don't remember."

He possesses his father's communication skills.

Me:  (Trying to jog his memory) "Did you do the zip line?"
John:  "Yeah."
Me:  "Was it totally awesome?"
John:  "Do we have to talk about this now.  I'm tired."

The words - so familiar...  just coming out of a smaller frame.

The Camp provided a website to view and order pics of their activities.  Later that day (after a nap), John and I looked through the pictures together.  He excitedly told me about his activities and pointed out the new friends he has made.  He told me how this is the best camp EVER and he wants to go again next year.

One of the greatest things about this camp - no one questioned the lines on his chest because...

All the campers were Rockin' the Scar!

School Days! School Days!

Last fall, my daughter and her boyfriend were talking about their first day of classes.  I listened to them talk about their new teachers, books and other students.  Knowing my thirst for creativity, Dan said something that changed my life.  “Why don’t you sign up for my Photoshop class?”   

The next day, I became his classmate.  I am considered a Returning Learner.  “Returning Learner” is code for “Old Person”.    The class was comprised of mostly 18-20 year-old's and several of us Old People.  One Returning Learning in particular made us all look young!

I absolutely loved our Photoshop class.  

The final project was to make a CD cover.  Here's mine...