Family, Friends, Love, and Laughter

Tonight was one of the best nights I’ve had in a very long time. My heart is so full of love that I feel like it could explode! The Diamondbacks game was a huge success, and I heard the tickets that were sold for our foundation almost SOLD OUT! Thank you all so much for coming, and for those who could not come but still bought tickets to support Ronan. A huge thanks to Becky for coordinating everything, giving us an awesome tour, and making sure we were all taken care of. I am so happy I finally got to meet you. I smiled, laughed, and cried tonight, and it all felt good!

I finally got the chance to meet a very special young man, Will, and his mother. I have heard about Will since day one of Ronan being diagnosed. Dr. Wood spoke of him very early on. Will is a neuroblastoma survivor and is 18 now. I was so honored to finally meet them. I have been dreaming about this day for a very long time. I talked with them for a bit and completely broke down, and the tears came pouring out. They were tears of happiness, sadness, and hope. So much hope. Will is a beautiful boy, and I can tell he is much wiser than other kids his age. He’s got a twinkle in his eye like he has a secret. Maybe someday he will share that secret with Ronan. I know that Will and his family will forever be a part of our lives, and I can’t wait to get to know them better and to introduce Ronan to them.

The kids had a blast at the game. Woody and Liam didn’t make it, which I was sad about. They planned on coming but then got tied up at home with Ronan having a bloody nose. It turned out to be fine, but by the time they were ready to head over to the ballpark, the ASU game was getting ready to start. You know our loyalty to those Sun Devils… nothing gets in the way of that 🙂 They headed to the football game instead. I think Quinn had enough fun for both him and Liam, though. I really enjoyed being surrounded by all of my friends’ kids tonight. I saw Quinn laugh and giggle more than I have seen him do in a very long time. Those Willits boys know how to have a good time. With parents like theirs, it’s easy to see where they get it from. Thank you, Gay and Barry, for bringing your three beautiful boys and supporting and loving us. Everything is so much more fun when you all are involved 🙂

I wish I would have taken more pictures tonight. I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot. Tonight I needed to relax and let go just a bit, and that is just what I did. We sold a lot of shirts at the game! Mainly to friends and family. My friend Jen and I went down into the lower 100 level to see some of my other girlfriends who were sitting down there. Lauren, Heidi, and Christy and their kiddos had a section to themselves, so we joined them for a bit. Jen and I made quite a stir with our huge bag full of T-shirts. Soon, strangers were asking what they were for. I used my strongest voice possible and told them they were for my son’s foundation and that he has cancer. The man behind us bought one instantly for his wife. The woman two rows back wanted to know how much they were, and when we told her $20, she said she would like to have one but couldn’t really afford it. Five minutes later she said she changed her mind because it was for such a good cause and handed us a $20 bill. The woman next to her only had $10 and said she didn’t need a shirt but wanted to just donate it to him. I instantly started BAWLING. And not the kind of cute cry where the tears just innocently roll down your cheeks, but the kind of bawling where you are a total mess and can’t stop. Thank goodness I was surrounded by my friends. They hugged me, kissed me, loved me, and Christy even came and sat on my lap and fed me peanuts 🙂

I think it was the kindness of the strangers that did it. They don’t even know Ronan, but they know he is worth fighting for, and they are willing to fight for him. I hope these people tonight are blessed with many things in their lives. I truly believe in good karma. I know it exists, and someday they will be repaid.

After the game, Jen, Ashley, and I headed to Chelsea’s Kitchen for some dinner. We were starved, and Chelsea’s is my favorite neighborhood place to go. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table, so we sat outside and just enjoyed it. We watched Ashley (who is 7) do backbends in the grass, pick flowers, and play in the fountain. We quietly talked about the present time and the future. I have known Jen since the 8th grade. She was a year older than me in school, and I have always worshiped the ground she walked on. She is smart, athletic, funny, beautiful, and someone who tells it like it is. I LOVE people like that. She just moved back here about five months ago, and I now know that someone put her back here with me for a reason. She was meant to help me during this roller coaster of a ride. She is someone you can put in charge of something, and it gets done, no questions asked. And if anyone knows how to get things done, it’s Jen. Plus, she makes me laugh like no other. I feel like we have connected souls, and being around her always makes me feel at peace. She has a calming effect on me. I don’t feel that way around many people these days, but with her it is always there.

After dinner, we walked out to the valet to get our car. The cute 18-year-old boy who went to open my door saw that all three of us were wearing matching shirts. He said, “You all have matching shirts. Do you mind if I ask what they are for?” Now, because of the rawness of my situation and the core age group of my target audience, which is usually parents and grandparents, I guess I wasn’t quite prepared for how to answer this question from an 18-year-old valet boy. So I just blurted out my normal answer, which is, “It’s the foundation for my 3-year-old son who has cancer.” He then responded, “Oh, well that’s cool. Good luck with that.” Bless his heart. Jen and I were hysterical once we got into the car. Not only was his response priceless, but it reminded us of one of my favorite skits on Saturday Night Live called Debbie Downer. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, you really should Google it and watch it for a laugh. Basically, there is this girl, Debbie, who is always the downer of the party. Whenever her friends take her out or have her over for a good time, she ruins it by telling awful stories the entire episode. They play this wah-wah type of music throughout the skit, and it has always cracked me up. I was totally Debbie Downer to that 18-year-old valet kid. I swear I could hear the music playing in the background during our conversation. It was worth it, though, because we cracked up about it almost the entire way home. Ahhh, the little things in life 🙂

I came home to a sweet Ronan and an even sweeter Karen all cuddled up on my couch. It melts my heart to see those two together. Thank you, Karen, for taking such precious care of my little guy so I could go out and celebrate him and his amazing fight. He is sleeping peacefully next to me, and I am going to whisper sweet nothings in his ear about all the people who love him. Friends, family, and strangers.

Thank you again to all of you. Thank you for loving us, believing in us, and supporting us. We will forever be grateful for all of you. Goodnight and blessings to you all.