"hold that hug" ~ random thoughts on a Sarah Becking tribute

nothing official yet on this. 

plans may change quite drastically, but here's a nugget of a thought kim came up with.

thinking about it gives us something constructive to do with our sadness and frustration.

and as i sit here tonight thinking so much about sarah becking (obituary in today's columbia tribune, but to get a sense of sarah and jason and their family . . . and what a true MU fan looks like, you should jump over to jason's blog)

anyway, am just overwhelmed with thoughts and just decided ...hey why not share:

we're brainstorming about a drop-in family photo shoot open to every family we know at stewart park one bright crisp afternoon this fall. every family everywhere welcome with "family hug" pictures created for each family who comes by . . .

we're envisioning it as as a service to families (and as a cool neighborhood thing, sarah and jason's house is just down the street) and maybe a fund-raiser in honor of sarah becking, too . . . and as a chance to get together with old friends and to take pictures making sure that EVERY kid has a picture taken WITH THEIR MOM, not just BY their mom.

sarah had e-mailed me in the fall about getting together for a becking family shoot.

and me and my silly, petty little to-do-list never followed thru. 

thought about it dozens of times.

never made the call. 

i can't tell you how horrible i feel about that.

sarah becking's death hits hard. 

she was as kind and creative and positive as any person you'll ever meet. if you have young kids this next part goes without saying, but, part of what's so awful is that there are these great little people who love their mom and oh did their mom love them. guess that's why this "hold that hug" tribute idea resonates with us. we'll keep you posted.

in the meantime, here's what i did do today besides pondering and crying and hugging and taking my kids out to lunch at taj mahal (we LOVE that place; even zoe had 4 plates of food) -

1. peeked again at the pictures from maine. i'm not quite up to editing yet. (sorry gina + chris.)

tomorrow i think i'll be ready; but here's as far as a got today; a peek and then this series caught my eye. these are the georgia jolleys ~ a simple hugs + kisses series:

2. created some "story boards" ~ swim season has nearly come to an end and these 4 coaches have been amazing.

it really does take a village, doesn't it.

printing these out as 16 x 16 and millers will mount them, too before team kids and parents will be invited to sign. then comes the framing and presenting to 4 remarkable young people who make our lives easier, healthier and more fun.

trying my hardest to treasure each moment, amy