Saying Goodbye

         Well, I just got through the worst February of my life. Both my grandmother's passed away within 48 hours of each other. It has been a tiring two months. I know my mum was feeling really tired. She was caring for her mom the entire time. My dad's mom passed away in a nursing facility she had been at for a few years. The only good part of these two plus months is I got to spend time with relatives. Except now I'm a little confused about my family tree. I met some relatives I never knew existed. 

    My mum's mother, before she passed away, said she wanted more red around. My dad and I needed to rent a car to go to Iowa for her funeral. My mum was in Iowa with the good car, and it wasn't safe to take the other car out of town. Dad thought he was getting a Nissan Altima, instead, he got a bright red Dodge Charger. Boy, did it roar! It was fun cruising down the road listening to rock and roll. It just seemed appropriate that the car ended up being red in my grandma's honor.

     This past Saturday we decided to honor Nikita and the grandmothers. We never got an opportunity to do something for Nikita when we had to put her to sleep. So in our garden, we put down a fake rock with "Grandma's Garden" on it. We also planted flowers around the rock and then we spread some of Nikita's ashes over the flowers. Finally, we put a picture of Nikita in the garden. It felt good to do something to recognize all of them.    

    During all this sadness, there were some good moments. About two weeks ago, Science Olympiad regionals occurred. It was a very nerve racking time, but it was also one of the best moments of my life. It was extremely fun! Everyone on the team did great. I was happy to have medaled in all my events. The Tri-North teams finished second and third at regionals. Now we are advancing to State! It is going to be exciting. Another great thing is I won't have to get up as early for State. The state competition is in Bloomington.
     The following Saturday I had a soccer tournament in Bloomington, Illinois. It was a 3 vs 3 tournament, and there were four players on the team. We did well. We placed second, despite only having one practice. However, our final game was off to a dismal start. Right before the game one of my teammates threw up. We had no subs for the game. Then another player twisted his ankle shortly after the second half started. He was out on the field limping like the "Karate Kid" ready to play. The other team had five players so they gave us one. This game was for second, but there was no trophy. It was a fun and tiring tournament.
      I now want to thank all the nice people who cared for our dogs while we were in Iowa. I didn't get permission to use their names so I won't name them, but they know who they are. I hope Hoover didn't overwhelm them with too many kisses. It's good to be back home with my dogs.