It was nine months ago today that my sister-in-law Wendy drowned while on vacation in La Paz, Mexico. And while it’s not technically an anniversary, it feels like one, and Erin and my mother-in-law and the family are feeling it. Erin is participating in the NaPoWriMo, which asks participants to try to compose a poem a day for the month of April. It’s revigorated her blog, and there is a lot of powerful stuff there.
This July will not only be the anniversary of Wendy’s death, but it will be the two-year anniversary, almost to the day, of my father-in-law’s heart surgery. Some of you may recall the trip Erin, Wendy and I made to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota to be with Wendell (along with the whole clan) while he underwent surgery to close a hole in his heart. Earlier that summer, when he was visiting us and worrying about the surgery, we could see that he was flagging because of his ailment. And while the surgery was about as invasive as any you could imagine, putting him out of commission for at least eight weeks, the improvement to his heart was plain to see by Christmas.
For Wendy, and for his heart, in less than a month my father-in-law will be walking a half marathon, to raise funds for the Wendy Noteboom Ewell Scholarship operated by Iowa State University. I know he can do it; Wendell has always been a walker, but this is still going to be a major accomplishment, and a proud and sad moment that Wendell is training for.
The fundraising for the scholarship is going well, and we are close to raising enough funds to set it in motion, and offer its first award in a couple years time.
Vivian has been a great joy for Erin and myself. She giggles and shrieks. She knows how to roll over, and can stand on her own two feet, with assistance. Wendy would have loved doting on her as her aunt.