Parent Blog

When Shannon was preschool aged, she had big bright eyes, long hair with curls at the bottom, and was "full of beans" as my mother would say! She was absolutely adorable (no bias of course...) and even strangers were drawn to her. When we were at the mall one day browsing the Hallmark store, an older gentleman came up to her and began talking with her. She charmed him with the sparkle in her eye and cheery personality until he insisted on buying her a beanie baby. After much hesitation, we thanked him graciously and went on our way.

She was know as "Papa's Dolly" to her grandfather and the apple of his eye. Shannon loved anything shiny and would peruse the house finding things she could carry around and then hide...some never to be seen again!

I had a memory just today looking out the window at the snow. I could picture her at the top of the snowdrift in the middle of Buttermilk circle, an accumulation of days, weeks and sometimes months of endless snow. Her tiny little head popping up and down as she climbed to and fro atop the giant frozen mountain and slid down! It was bittersweet, the awareness that she is growing up and time marches on, and thankful to have such a wonderful person in my life and that I have such cherished memories and more to come!

At age 3, Shannon didn't have time for naps, there were far too many things to explore to waste precious time on that. When her busy days came to an end, her mind would wander, and I would snuggle up with her and rub her back until she fell asleep. MMMMmmm. Nice thoughts.