I was intending on blogging about the great news that my daughters' tennis team won the State 3-A tennis tournament...however...in the light of the news that I was given today, I do not think that is appropriate.

I am currently on spring break vacation with my husband and three girls. I returned from a day of shopping to find an IM from my old high school friend, Mary. I was tickled that she connected with me. Unfortunately, when I opened her message, she was asking me if I had heard about what had happened to another dear friend's daughter. Immediately, fear shot through my body. I looked to see if Mary was still on line and found out she was not. These questions NEVER bring good news. I thought I had her phone number, but found out I did not. I called a couple of other friends that I thought would know what had happened. One of the good things about growing up in a small town and maintaining those hometown relationships is that news travels fast - good or bad.

To my dismay, this was bad news. It seems that my friend Tara Storch and her husband Todd had taken their three children on a spring break ski trip to Beaver Creek, Colorado. On Sunday afternoon, their beautiful 13 year old daughter, Taylor was a new skier and was skiing an intermediate slope when she fell backwards and hit her head. She was wearing a helmet, but the blow must have been VERY hard. She was pronounced brain dead and her parents had to make the hardest decision of their lives - to take her off of life support. No parent EVER wants to make this decision or outlive their children. This is not a natural chain of events.

I have known Tara since we were in kindergarten; I only met Todd when they were married over 16 years ago. Tara was always smiling and happy. She was the "baby" sister to three brothers, who worshipped her and protected her. She never met a stranger and was always willing to help those in need. I am sure these are some of the many qualities that attracted Todd to her. I have only met their children a couple of times when they came back to Abilene and attended church. I could not pick them out of a crowd or tell you their names...what I can tell you is that knowing their parents, I am sure that all three are just as loving, caring and giving as their parents.

There have already been EIGHT facebook pages set up, with over 3,000 members, dedicated to Taylor. That says a great deal about the kind of person she was. I have read many of the posts on the sites, and they all are woven with a common thread. Great athlete, beautiful inside and out, happy and always smiling and willing to help others. The list goes on. Taylor will be missed by too many people to count.

Tara and Todd made a very unselfish decision to donate Taylor's organs. Again, this just goes to show what wonderful people they are. Could you be that unselfish? Honestly, I am not sure. I have heard that her organs have already gone to help save the lives of a 39 year old, a 1 year old and two people in Colorado. Amazing!

As I sit here composing this blog, I am in a total state of shock and disbelief. I DO NOT know how Tara & Todd feel at this point, nor will I pretend I do. All I can say to them is I ache for them and I am here to lend an ear, if they need one. I don't know how they will feel about this blog. I hope it will comfort them, in time. And to everyone reading this blog, hold your children close today and everyday. Count each day as a blessing.

Just simply,
Erin

It Was the BEST of Times...It Was the WORST of Times!

Charles Dickens wrote that many years ago in "A Tale of Two Cities". I think I now know what he meant! The past five days have been the best for me and the worst. (In all honesty, I have a great life...can't complain...just want to add some effect!).

Last Thursday, the Schroeder clan was scheduled to travel 14 hours to Telluride, Colorado, for our annual skiing trip. We usually take this trip with our friends the Nelson's, but they had just spent 3 weeks in London and did not feel they could make this trip (I am CRYING for them!). I was not as excited about this trip as I have been in the past, for several reasons. One...the Nelson's would not be there...two...we had to drive...three...we would not return home until the 22nd of December...four...we had to drive...five...we had to drive!

So, much to my surprise, Cactus had chartered a plane from Abilene Aero to fly us to and from Telluride! YEAH!!!! He was trying to surprise (and make happy) all of the women in his life. We had done this many times before, but we all thought this was not possible this year with the bad shape that the economy was in and the down turn in the oil business. Did everyone hear the screams coming from the car when we pulled into the airport? I am just now regaining my hearing from this! I know I complain about Cactus (as we all do about our spouses), but he REALLY is a great man. He knew that I was stressed about this trip; what with shopping, cooking and not just my family visiting this year, but his, too. That is why he decided to fly instead of drive. That knocked 12 HOURS OFF OF OUR TRIP!!!! We were not suppose to be in Telluride until Friday at about noon...we arrived there at about 4 p.m. on THURSDAY!

We get to our hotel (which we have stayed in 3 times before), and they only have us for ONE room on Thursday, not the TWO that we had booked. I show my confirmation e-mail and the front desk manager goes to the "back to see what she can do." She returns and tells us that since they are at fault, we are being upgraded to a penthouse suite, with full kitchen for about HALF of what we were going to spend on the two rooms that we have already booked. AND...would we be interested?! REALLY?! NO...we will all just cram into the king room that you had us in! DUH! Isn't life grand?

SCREEEEECH! Now for the worst of times! As I am standing dealing with the room issue, my 16 year old comes up to me and tells me that Elle is in the bathroom throwing up. I will not go into details at this time, BUT...it is not good! I go check on her and see that...well, never mind. Housekeeping is called. She says that she feels better and goes downstairs with her dad to get her skis, while I meet the bellman in the room. While I was unpacking, Delaney, my 14 year old, runs into the room and tells me that Elle threw up in the middle of the hallway; I grab the first thing I can (a small bowl) and head out to the hall...again...housekeeping is called. I will now give you the Reader's Digest version...I stayed in that night...Cactus took the two older ones to eat...this went on until about 4 o'clock Friday morning...I slept on the couch!

I am sure that it was just altitude sickness, but just in case, Elle and I stayed in the room on Friday, while Cactus took the other two skiing (which is NOT such a bad thing). Cable, DVD, and wine...what more could a girl want? This had never happened to her before, but I think all of the excitement, plus the thin air got the best of her. Thank goodness we arrived a day early!

The rest of the trip was WONDERFUL! All of our girls are amazing skiers; but Elle is FEARLESS! She just points her skis down and meets you at the bottom! At one point, she got off the lift skiing BACKWARDS!

The advantage to a private plane is that you can come and go at your own schedule; the disadvantage, is that when you are in an area like we were in, you have to constantly check the weather. So...Sunday afternoon, our pilot, Greg (he is the BEST!), called and said that we would need to head home on Monday afternoon, instead of Tuesday morning. At first, we were all disappointed, but then, we realized that we had been able to ski the same amount of days we would have if we had driven. Crises diverted! The good news is, I was able to get home a day early...complete my Christmas shopping without a great deal of stress (groceries, too)...and Gab with Nan tomorrow at 1 p.m. CST (tune into www.highvoltageradio.com)!

I had a great time with my family. All three of the girls got along...MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!...we rested...ate good food...and enjoyed our time together. Trust me...time is VERY valuable right now. I realized on this trip, that Katie will be leaving for college (probably NOT in Texas), in a year and a half! So, please take this time to hug your children, your spouse, your significant other, your parents, grandparents and all of your family members. Don't just hug them now...but everyday, because...It's a Wonderful Life! I know... I live it every day!

Merry Christmas and God Bless!
Gabbin' Gal Erin

P.S. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Brittany Murphy at this time!