Hello! Happy Tuesday - and for those that it counts…..SNOWY TUESDAY! Today we had a snow day and it was just lovely! Yesterday the snow started around 3PM and by 4:30PM it was falling - with the cold temps (think 9-13 degrees) every snow flake counted and it was amounting quick! So the office closed up and I was headed home. We had enjoyed a great week and wonderful weekend of great strides and progress, so a Monday cut short and a chance at a snow day was fantastic! This morning our wishes came true and we had a day at home….which worked out exceptionally well since I chose to let the to dos go last night and go with my family to Mardi Gras dinner!
My parents are from the DC area originally, but they did spend sometime in New Orleans - where they actually had their ragin cajun: moi! And with my birthday coming soon - right around Mardi Gras, I have always heard it was not the best time to be due with your first baby as the whole city is out and about celebrating. I was due on Mardi Gras originally and my mom’s doc said “I won’t be there, but I am sure someone will…” but thankfully my lateness started at birth and being almost a month late- all was well! To pass the time while waiting though- they did attend the Mardi Gras festivities and after time spent in the bayou, their the desire to celebrate Fat Tuesday is still alive and well! With the weather being what it was - we took advantage and went to enjoy last night. It was a blast - hurricanes and margaritas flowing with some steamed shrimp, oysters to share, and lots of spice…it was a great night! Followed by sleeping late today and a chance to be at home in PJs - just awesome. That being said….we are looking back on the weekend just a wee bit late!
Friday was truly a wonderful day. Danny was schedule to speak at SUPERDANCE. The largest, longstanding high school fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis at Bishop O’Connell High School. This 12 hour dance-a-thon has been a tradition for 40 years and one that has become a sort of milestone in the lives of DJO students. We both had been involved during our years there and those dances were some of our most incredible memories. Since Dan’s graduation he has come back almost every year to speak on his experience with CF and to thank the students for their support. This year - he thought - would be no different. However I happened to know that my sister Bridget was asked to give his introduction.
The night before Danny seemed extra nervous. As he says speaking in front of meetings or galas - no big deal….but high school students, in our high school - the same auditorium with his own memories, that is intense! He stayed up until 2AM preparing his speech this year and was pretty jumpy all morning. I was a tad worried for him - especially if Bridget’s was emotional it could really throw him off.
We arrived to watch some of the fun actives and games they do to get the students pumped up and ready for the dance. One including a money grab game that Brig participated in! It was fun to watch and even better hearing her name and the kids cheer. A lot of Heppes have gone through those halls and it always warms my heart to hear they are still cheering that name on! As we watched we hugged and greeted teachers and administrators who have become longtime friends. And for me sitting in that auditorium seeing so very many faces from my years and our times back for SUPERDANCE float through my mind - my heart just feels so full. Before we knew it - time for Bridget.
The intro for Dan was partially what they always say - his age, where he lives, that he is married and coaches hockey - but this year a new twist. Bridget gave her vision of Danny. A person who has been in her life since she was 7. She has watched his struggles change, his fight continue and how humble he is about the whole thing. That he would never refer to himself as hero, but that truly he is a hero who is fighting for his life. Dan walked up on stage and they did the handshake they had sorta of practiced, but then they hugged and the tears in my eyes brimmed.
Danny thanked everyone and thanked Bridget. He noted what an amazing giving spirit she has - several birthday parties even as a young kid she has asked to forgo presents and just have people donate to CF. Watching her grow and see her life here - it has made his world brighter. Danny went on to talk about his time at O’Connell and how this group has truly become his family. The way people have rallied behind him here - some good friends and some people he has never met! They have made his life better…..and made some things in his life possible. Without DJO he may not be standing here - their fundraising has supported the research to make the future for CF bright. And he may never have met his wife…..or been given a family that has taught him about being part of a group with lots of siblings and are well known in the community. It has given him the chance to know Bridget -and for her to become his true sister. Danny spoke for probably a solid 15 minutes and it was incredible. The best speech he has ever done….and all talking about family. The true gift of family, our O’Connell Family.
My heart ya’ll was so full I thought it would burst. True joy and pure love was just streaming out of me for the rest of the day……hearing my sister’s tender and loving words and to hear my husband’s incredible love for the family he has found with the Heppes and our school and then to spend time talking with other CF families and teachers after……it was one of those moment where you know you are experiencing pure elation and something that will stay with you forever. We are so blessed and for all the heartache and frustrations and fears and anger - this is the silver lining.
Well heading off to work after that and Danny to practice, come 7PM that night we were beat and sacked out on the couch- with yup, you guessed it Chinese! :)
Saturday started with a bang- up bright and early to meet the relator for our number one house pick and put in the application! We were pumped and she said everything looked great….wahoo!! We would know by early next week. Walking out of that appointment everything we had been talking about and wondering about and hoping for….DONE! So it was sorta like - OOOO Valentine’s day - whoops! First step we stopped in Starbucks - always a safe way to start the celebrations.
From there we visited a few more locations, just in case our first choice does not come through and then headed home to let Dan rest and me do some catch up on life. We did laundry, to do lists, cleaned, and tried to figure out what we wanted to do for our Valentine’s day. As you can imagine waiting last minute sorta limits your options. So with no plan shaping up I was feeling a little sad! Our 10th Valentine’s together and we had overlooked it!! We had been so preoccupied with the new place, we had completely let celebrating go!
Dan suggested that we embrace our distraction and being low-key and grabbed dinner in Panera where we can plan our new place and go over moving to do’s followed up by a favorite for us all, the movies. Being the spreadsheet lover that I am - it sounded good! And just to really secure my desire to celebrate the special day and feel romantic - I took the afternoon and headed for a spa manicure and pedicure. That put me right back into a good mood and I was excited for our own version of a romantic night.
Well the day got away from us pretty quick and before we knew it we only had a little time to eat and chat before our movie started…..o well! In some ways I thought this is actually the perfect 10th Valentines! It was distracted by our living OUR life….together. Not overly romantic and not crazy stupid in love….but enjoying our own little excitement for the life we are working on together, actually quite perfect. In fact 10 years ago I was so on cloud 9 with the romance, I could not stop wondering if it would really last…….so self from 10 years ago - it did last…and it is good!
We hit the movies and saw Imitation Game. It was fantastic and really reminded me of the beauty we can find in differences and loving people for exactly who they are - instead of judging them for being different. What an awesome love message on this VDay! And we concluded our night with a drink at one of my FAVORITE Margarita spots - Firebirds. As we sat at the bar toasting to us, Dan checked his email to find a message from the relator - everything in the app looked great! Of course she would need to finalize it all during the business week but as of now we were pretty much the first choice and the listing was going to be updated to say “application pending”!!! We were stoked…..now that was a good present!
Sunday morning was pretty quiet. Danny and I had stayed up too late once we got home for the movies pretending to watch TV and really falling in an out of sleep that Sunday morning had a slow start that drifted into a slow day. We did some to dos, got ready for the week and did some house planning while looking at our rental’s pictures for the 100th time!!! Only getting ourselves together for mass in the evening and the store right after.
We ended the night with a dinner creation from Danny - inspired by a Cheesecake Factory pasta (he worked there during college) that was fantastic! My personal chef is getting pretty excited for his own kitchen!!!
The weekend was not the red and pink love fest I had originally thought of a few weeks back. We did exchange cards and I wrote on little hearts 14 of my favorite romantic gestures by Danny, but for the most part our life distracted us. And even though I worried this was a bit anti-climatic, we are so excited for the changes to come and I hope the celebrating only gets bigger as we move to our own place.
Finally thank you for allowing me to work through my jumbled thoughts last week. My dreams and hopes and visions are so exciting and so motivating - yet I let my heart run away faster than my brain can keep up!! But since that post I have read a few places about how goals can’t always be achieved in the BIG way, sometimes it is just a little everyday. Or that you have to start where you are - even if you wish you could start farther ahead. I am where I am because this is where I am supposed to be….and that is important to remember. So thanks for meeting me here and I hope you have a wonderful week!
