Today, it was that time again. Already. How did a whole year pass this quickly?
Rincon Vista Middle School held their annual Cakes & Cars community event. They added Kim's name to the title last year. The staff and PTA do a fantastic job making this truly a family event. It kicks off with a 5K (I ran from the parking lot to the front door), followed by pancakes, a classic car show and a full schedule of performances - dancing, singing, orchestra and cheerleading - they have a talented group of students!
They have really kept Kim's spirit in this event, involving the whole community. And they always make us feel a part of it - Brent Edwards, the Asst. Principal, announcing that we'd be there selling Kimmy's Kitchen cookbooks and Random Act of KIMness bracelets and letting me tell the pancake eaters about what a caring, loving, giving - always doing for others - person Kim was. Lisa Scott, the PTA President, did a wonderful job organizing this event and we sold a bunch of cookbooks for Kimmy's foundation. So thankful for RVMS continued support!
A young girl approached our table, quietly standing in front of us...When she was the only one left, I asked how I could help her.
"I knew your wife." She declared, simply, eyes going from mine, back down to the table and back up again.
I waited. For more. "You did?" I asked her, at a loss for better questions.
"Yes. She was a beautiful person." Barely a whisper, she turned on her heel and was gone.
"Thank you!" I lofted back at her, as she disappeared into the crowd.
For me, that was enough. The young lady's courage in coming up to let me know that, made my day. I didn't even get her name...
Tonight, we met Lupe, Manny and Monsi to see The Rise of the Guardians. It was surprisingly good. Even Tonio and Aut said it was better than they thought it was going to be.
As I've said before, anymore, it seems, that every movie brings back some memory of Kimmy - and this one was no exception.
The story involved an Avengers like group of characters, like a Slavic-accented, scimitar-wielding Santa (Alec Baldwin) with “naughty” and “nice” tattooed on his burly arms, an Easter bunny with an Aussie accent and a lot of attitude (Hugh Jackman), a silent sandman who communicates with dreamy designs made from glistening specks, and the feathered Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher), who presides over a battalion of hummingbird-sized minions who collect baby teeth and leave coins while children sleep. When the happiness and comfort of the children of the world is threatened by the Boogeyman (Jude Law), they need more help and so they invite Jack Frost (Chris Pine) to join them, explaining that they are responsible for making sure the children of the earth have “wonder, hope, and dreams.”
And there it was - in the "wonder, hope and dreams"...for children. Each day, Kim brought that to our lives. At one point, the Boogeyman slowly dissolves the Sandman with an insidious, black dust that turns his glowing, golden sand to black - reminding me of the cancer that Kim fearlessly and ferociously battled, just as these characters fought the Boogeyman and his cache of nightmares.
At the end, a little boy is sad, because he wants Jack Frost and his gang to stay, where he can see them all daily. Frost tells him that they will always be there for him, in his heart, as long as he believes.
Agua Caliente Park
A newborn Autumn
Watching the polar bears at the Reid Park Zoo
A day old Autumn (spooky eyes!) - look at the love in Kim's smile!
Again, the smile...
Kim and Aut at her brother's in PA
Always making the bambini's day!
Little Autumn, on the porch swing at our old house
Always in our hearts...Always.
