"Dragonflies and lemonade..."

Let me start by saying that Rowan had a lot of special things in his life... many things that are so very difficult to part with, because they hold such dear memories.  I can't just bring myself to donate the entirety of his room to Goodwill, or to hold a random garage sale...it just doesn't feel right.  I feel better about gifting items of his, as I feel led to, to either people who need the specific items, or to his special friends.  Christa received one of his favorite stuffed hippos, a painting she had made him and a couple other items, Khale received his medical chair/stroller, Sam got his bongos and his Minecraft book, Roman received his bike and helmet, etc. 

About 2 months ago, we needed to get a new fridge.  As I helped wheel the old one out to the garage, to await delivery of the new one, the men placed it in the corner of the garage.  It just so happened to be placed next to Rowan's lemonade stand...the one he and his siblings used to raise tens of thousands of dollars for Kidd's Kids over several years, prior to Rowan's death.  As I glanced up at it, my eyes filled with tears.  I ran my hand over the painted yellow and white wood, and I instantly pictured little Rowan standing behind the stand, with his red hair and bright blue eyes, serving his special "ginger lemonade".  I looked up at the top of the stand, at the sign on top, the one Zoe had hand painted while Rowan was in the hospital when he was just 6 or 7.  At first, in my head, I read it as "Lennon-aid" instead of "Lemonade".  Then I smiled, and thought to myself, "awwwww, Lennon".  Then it came to me...in that instant...Rowan was telling me to gift his lemonade stand to Lennon's family.  I closed my eyes, cried, and said "okay Rowan".  Honestly, it was not something I thought I would be able to give away anytime soon, but I was listening to my heart, to Rowan, and to God.  I trusted them all...it was time.  There was still life in it...still good to be made from behind it.

I talked to Zoe and Iris and we decided that maybe it should be "freshened up" or modified a little bit, so that it was ready for their family, and instantly we all 3 knew what we needed to do to it.  Over the next few weeks, we did just that...we prepared Rowan's lemonade stand for Lennon's family.  I messaged her Mommy, Marci and asked if it was something she would want...she confirmed that it was indeed something they would be honored to have.  I asked if her girls could use it to continue their late sister Lennon's legacy and be able to raise money for her memorial charity "Lennon-aid".  She said "definitely".  Iris drew their Lennon-aid logo and I hand-painted it.  I decoupaged photos of Lennon and Rowan on little wood plaques, so these angels' beautiful faces could forever be emblazoned on the stand.  Iris and I painted and added dragonflies to the sides of the stand because dragonflies are an important symbol and sign in the Walther families life since Lennon passed.

The stand was ready for them in time for Lennon's angel-versary this month, on June 1st, but Marci and I could not align our schedules in time...instead it was God's timing.  I dropped the lemonade stand off this past Thursday, early, early, in the morning before they had even woken up.  I placed all the pieces, and the bag of Rowan's left over supplies, near their garage and left it with a card.

Shortly afterwards, Marci started texting me.  She was up, had seen it and was in tears...happy tears.  I asked her to send me pictures of the girls once they were awake and had seen it too.  A few hours later, she did.  She sent me pictures and video.

(Just look at these precious faces!!!)

She and the girls had set it up and couldn't wait to do their first lemonade stand for Lennon-aid.  I texted her and told her to make sure to tell me when they did, so I could come try their lemonade and make a donation in memory of Rowan and Lennon.  She said "deal"!  Then...she started freaking out, texting me like crazy because of something that happened at that moment...a HUGE orange dragonfly landed by the stand!  She tried desperately to get a photo as it came and went, but she was unable to.  She told me that she had never seen an orange dragonfly, until that morning, just like she had never seen a bright pink dragonfly until one started to visit her after Lennon went to heaven.  And you may remember that I had a bright blue dragonfly stay with me for over an hour at the cemetery just a couple weeks ago when I was journaling to Rowan about Lennon's angel-versary, and another blue one visit me here at the house as I cleaned the stand up to give to them.

  We just cannot deny that these are signs from our sweet angels.  I never used to see dragonflies, but since I started getting this lemonade stand ready to give to Marci and her girls, they have been present...for myself and for Marci.  Thank you Lennon.  Thank you Rowan.  Keep them coming...pink, orange, blue, any color you choose.  It helps us feel your presence here on this side of the veil.  

Marci, I pray you and your family enjoy this lemonade stand for many years to come, that you raise lots of money for your charity Lennon-aid, that you make as many beautiful memories as we did.  Rowan's ginger lemonade recipe card used to say "if life gives you lemons, sell lemonade to help others"... but I love how you see it too... that we both "took the sourest lemon life has to offer and will turn it in to something resembling lemonade."  

Love you and yours!  This stand belongs to you now.

  I pray it gets visited by dragonflies again and again... until we are all reunited in heaven.

  As I learned from you... we are one day closer.

"Sunflowers friends and dandelion wishes": Rowan and Roman

Rowan's young friend Roman and his family were in town this weekend so we got together for lunch and then went to visit Rowan's grave. On the way to the cemetery, Peter, Roman and I went in HEB  to buy flowers. Roman picked out these beautiful sunflowers for Rowan.

Once we arrived at the cemetery I laid out my blanket and we sat down next to Rowan's grave.  As I started to lay my flowers at the base of Rowan's grave, Roman was about to do the same... but he didn't.  Instead, he looked around and took one of the sunflowers over to a more recently placed grave.  He stuck the sunflower into the ground, sticking straight up from the dirt, and told us "I planted it".  

He came back and got another one and "planted" it at our sweet friend Olivia's grave, which is just a few feet from Rowan's.  

He did this again and again, "planting" all of the beautiful sunflowers at other people's resting places. 

 Of course his sweet mom and dad apologized to me and asked him a few times, "Roman, don't you want to give some to Rowan?", but I reassured them that this was not just fine, it was perfect, it was what he was supposed to do.  I told them, maybe the other families need to see them there instead, and we smiled thinking that Rowan probably loved this... maybe Rowan even told him to do it;) 

 It was the sweetest thing!  I am sure that none of us will ever forget it.  

Just like last year, when Roman pulled out his little toy tractor and digger and started "digging" in the dirt that lay over his friend's grave, blowing the only dandelion we could see, before going over and leaving the toy on the grave of an infant nearby.  That toy remains there a year later, on a stranger's grave.  A priceless reminder, that there is no "right" or "wrong" way for a small child to visit the gravesite of another child.  At it's very core, it feels unnatural, unfair, and it is certainly unwritten... but it happens, and unfortunately, in the life of medically fragile children or children with rare diseases, it happens all too often.  Rowan lost way too many friends before he himself died... more friends than I have lost adults in my adult life.  I feel awful that Roman even has to visit Rowan at a cemetery.  I have zero expectations of how he should act when he is there.  But, he has behaved perfectly each time! Because he acts how he feels, and that is all we can ask or expect of a child.  And this time he wanted to "plant" sunflowers in these exact spots.  

And I am blessed to have been there to witness it.

I love this family so much.  We met via Facebook because our boys were battling the same rare disease as well as severe multiple food allergies, and neither of them had a bone marrow match available in the world.  We live about 3 hours apart, both in Texas.  Our boys are named Rowan and Roman... aka "the Texas RoRos".  After over a year of being "FB friends", we met half way just before we left for Seattle for transplant, so that we could finally meet in person.  Then, when Rowan started to really decline, they immediately packed up and flew to Seattle to see us.  They saw Rowan, from outside his sliding glass door, the last day before he slipped into a coma.  Him smiling and waving to Roman is one of the last videos I have before Rowan moved to the PICU, where he died 2 months later.  

We will be friends for life now, not just FB friends, true friends.

Now, let me back up a little bit...

When we met up with them in Austin, the first time Rowan and Roman met each other, the last thing Rowan did in the parking lot of the restaurant, was blow on a dandelion and make a wish.  

His wish was that Roman find his match.  Rowan also told me he couldn't wait until Roman got older so he could help teach him things, especially about how to deal with his disease.  He wanted to be like a big brother to him.  I'm sad that never got to happen, but I believe Rowan will always watch out for Roman from heaven.  He is now his guardian angel.  

Roman now has a little baby sister, Luciana.  The day she was born (before I even knew Nicole had gone into labor), I had a dream where Rowan was once again blowing a dandelion. This was so very meaningful because Luciana (thank you Jesus), is a  perfect, non SDS affected, match for Roman should he get to the point of requiring a transplant!  Rowan's dandelion wish came true.

I have been working on a gift for sweet baby Lulu for months.  I have not completely finished it, but once I knew they were coming to visit, I wanted to at least show it to the Shen's, so I brought it with me Saturday.  It is a baby quilt I made her.  The only thing left to do is hand-quilting the layers together.  

I made poor Nicole cry (I'm sorry), 

but I am so glad I was able to show it to them there at the cemetery.  It just felt right, giving it to them at Rowan's resting place.  

I know he was watching us, and I have no doubt that he added his love to the quilt.  

I used materials with special meaning to make this quilt, the most important being several prints that had dandelions on them, and on the back...material from the sleeves of 3 of Rowan's personal shirts...2 of his "Rally for Rowan" shirts, and his own Roman/"Brave Eggroll" shirt.  I hope to finish the hand-quilting this month so little Lulu can enjoy some tummy time on it, but I am beyond blessed to at least have photos of the beautiful Shen family with the quilt, sitting next to Rowan's grave.

Lulu, I promise to finish it soon so you can lay on it, play on it, and enjoy it...

And Peter... oh Peter.

Thank you for being you...

for being one of the most selfless, compassionate, human beings I have ever met.  

You are a rock to your family.  

Please know how great you are. 

And thank you for praying "talking to my boy" each time you visit.  

It means the world to me.

2019 Cereal Totals: "Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope"... in memory of Rowan

Today was one of the good days...no, one of the great days.  This morning was the 2019 Breakfast of Champions at Methodist Children's Hospital and this afternoon was the final reveal for the 2019  Rowan Windham Memorial Cereal Drive. What began as 4000 servings being collected from Rowan's hospital bed on the 3rd floor, for the MCH summer cereal drive, has turned into an enormous legacy that continues to grow each year.

This year the goal was 225,000 servings. 

Well, as I predicted, we blew that out of the water!

We presented the San Antonio Food Bank with: 

277,748 servings of cereal today. 

This will be distributed to children in SA and the surrounding area (16 counties!) this summer while they are out of school.

Thank you to Methodist Children's Hospital Nurses, Staff and Leadership, Kens 5/Kens Cares, Reporter Marvin Hurst, Michael Guerra/SA Food Bank, all of the business and groups and friends and families who donated cereal or volunteered, everyone who called in and donated during the telethon on Monday (during which we raised over $8000 for the Food Bank!) or donated online, etc.  This is indeed a group effort. One Rowan was certainly guiding and smiling down on from Heaven.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some of my favorite pictures of the day were those from the Breakfast of Champions, which is a special event that was added to the cereal drive last year. 

Our amazing panel this year included Bryn Forbes of the SA Spurs, Sean Elliot NBA broadcaster and former SA Spur, his health and fitness enthusiast and speaker wife Claudia Zapata-Elliot, and Costanza Roeder founder of Hearts Need Art.

Kens Cares and Methodist Children's Hospital asked for nominations back in April, of children in the community who exemplified similar charitable qualities to Rowan, such as selflessness and service. They ended up with 80 nominees! It was tough to do, but the field was narrowed down to 13 and those 13 children were honored with a Breakfast of Champions today.

Some of these kids had started their own non-profits, some were campaigning to stop bullying, others had collected toys for children in the hospital, or shaved their head to raise money for childhood cancer research.  One had collected gift cards for law enforcement officers so they would know they had support, and could take a break and grab lunch or coffee for free. All of the children were doing amazing things in the community.  It was awe-inspiring!

These community/world changers had the opportunity to ask our esteemed panel questions.  They asked for advice, asked what motivated them, who had inspired them, etc.  It was such a heart warming event.  At the end, I spoke briefly, telling these kids a little bit about Rowan and his missions in life.  Then I reminded them that they are not just changing the world now with these acts of kindness...if they keep it up they could be leaving their legacy behind someday too.  I explained how legacy was defined by "leaving your mark on the world", and that while I wish I could bring Rowan back every day, I am so proud of the way he left his mark on the world...still today, two and half years after his death.  I told them how proud we all were of them, and the mark they were leaving as well.  What I wish I would have added, is that Rowan would have been proud to be friends with each and every one of them!

Here are just a few pictures of the panel and some of the winners of the awards...

 

Of course there was a big stir having Sean Elliot and Bryn Forbes in the room...I mean come on, San Antonio loves its Spurs!

But let me tell you, they were all so humble and kind, and it was a pleasure to meet them and to get to talk to them a little more about Rowan. They seemed genuinely honored to be a part of the event, and offered me heartfelt condolences and hugs. A huge thank you to each of them for giving of their valuable time to encourage these young children to continue making the good.

After the breakfast and panel, everyone headed downstairs to the lobby for the final cereal total reveal and presentation to the SA Food Bank.  It is always a sight to behold... wall to wall cereal, that we have been stacking up as fast as it is dropped off in the lobby all week long.  The colorful display just makes you smile and warms your hearts. 

Lots of laughter, hugs, tears, smiles, and joy felt in that hospital lobby today.  It is so wonderful to see people come together for a good cause.   "Amazing Together" is an understatement!

After the reveal and the cheers, after the interviews and photo opportunities...comes the hard physical work...

This amazing team wheeled out huge racks, stacked and wrapped pallets, filled water melon bins, and helped stage and fill not 1, not 2, not even just 3...but 4 huge trucks headed for the SA Food Bank.  And we did it quickly, due to the 100 degree heat, I might add;)

"Fighting Hunger...Feeding HOPE!"

Can't wait to do it again next year:)