Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A week to enjoy or endure?

I'm not sure if you noticed a change in writing style but the "water bottle" post was Diane's. I was very happy that she wanted to post it. Although she is still hurting very much she is showing signs of improvement.

We took the kids down to Camp Carefree in North Carolina over the weekend. We will go pick them up this weekend. The house is very quite now. We can just vegetate when we get home from work and not have to run around or deal with the constant bickering. But if there is one thing we have learned over the past three months it's that you should take it all in. You should drink every last drop of their childhood years. As we have learned, they can be snatched from you at anytime. Before you know it they are grown and gone. As we were standing in line to sign the kids in I heard the parents in front of us and behind us saying "I can't wait to drop you guys off." They were talking to their kids of course. We have all said such things many times but it made me think, do we really mean what we say? I think it just came across the wrong way. I think "we need a little break sounds better."

We left early Saturday to drop the kids off Sunday. The kids like staying at hotels so we thought that it would be nice. Saturday afternoon we stopped in Mt. Airy N.C. to do something different. We took the kids and went zip-lining. It was great. We thought that Justin would be a little apprehensive but he did very well. Daniela on the other hand was the one who wasn't quite sure about the task at hand. Despite her hesitation she took the plunge and after the second ride she was arguing with Justin to go first... It was a great time...

Cody's Crew Foundation fund raising is in full swing now. We have had a "Texas Hold'em Poker Night" here in Northern Virginia. We did very well for our first event. There is a community Bingo Night on the docket for the coming weeks. We also have plans for a Cody's Crew Yard sale. This is something that we have put some thought into. You do not have to live in Virginia to participate. We will be recruiting Crew members to host Cody's Crew Yard Sales all over the county. We have not determined the date yet but if you are interested in participating please email me at mjohnson@codys-crew.org.

Our first big event is the 1st Annual Cody's Crew 5K run/walk and Tot Trot this fall. It's scheduled for September 26th at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas. I will be setting a page up on our website for sign up and more information. This is first big event and we would love to have a great turn out.

We are still kicken and trying to keep moving. Cody still remains our strength and our motivation. His loss has rocked our world but it has also given us a goal. We don't want to see anyone go through what we have gone through.

"Fighting the Bad Bug"
Cody Johnson

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for an inspiring post. I needed that. I have a 5 year old daughter who has started all these summer activities and we are constantly on the go. I have those moments where I am questioning why we started all this but like you said I need to cherish every individual moment because it can go by so fast. So again thank you for reminding me of that!! Glad to hear things are getting better. Sometimes it is just best to remain busy because I have found that I don't have time to let things bother me. I just have to keep on moving. We are actually having a yard sale this weekend and I don't know if I am to early to participate but I would love to help out. I will leave my email address and you can let me know. Thanks! tigerlb923@yahoo.com

TiredMamaRunning said...

Believe me, I actually think of your family these days if it's a day when I am getting to that frazzled point with my kids and get that urge to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind in frustration. It's not cliche that they do grow up SO fast, and better to try to soak in everything-the good, the bad and the ugly.

I'm going to pass along the info about the 5K to my sister-in-law. She's a runner and lives in Ashburn and I bet she'd love to attend that. Glad that things are improving little by little for Diane as well.

Anonymous said...

The water bottle was a very beautiful post. I am glad that you all are working through day by day. I am glad to hear that you both are able to enjoy time with the kids and yourselves this week. Cody's Crew is a great site and I visit often. I will try to participate as much as I can with all the events, but know that I am constantly thinking of you all.
Love, BigSis

Saylorsmom said...

Great post. I love the new photo header. He looks so free!

Kentucky USATF said...

Ohhh- I LOVE that picture!

Kandi said...

I absolutely love the picture of Cody on the front page; it gave me goosebumps.

You are still in my thoughts every day and I continue to be inspired by you both.

Anonymous said...

I hope that last week was "good" for you all.

I hope the camp gave Justin and Daniela some safe change of pace.

I hope the time without kids gave you both the freedom to grieve without the pressure to "be strong for the kids".

I can't bring him back, but I can hope for the above.

I'm sorry...I so wish things were different.