Good Evening,

Our meeting on Thursday was successful.  We had 5 adults present and 8 students.  As one teacher said, you have to walk before you can run.  Truth is, I was quite pleased that we had 'such a good turn out.'  After all, it is all about perspective.  At the end of the meeting, which was 20 minutes long, I said the words of the teacher at the other school, " wouldn't it be great if we somehow got 500 students to be members of this club?"    One of the girls that was at our meeting said, I will make that happen.  She actually spoke out and said, I have your back, Mrs. Keane, I can make that happen.  I will get everyone to join this club.   God Bless her.  She is strong and she attracts.  She has a smile that brightens a room and commands attention!  It's funny.  When I told another teacher that she joined our club, they said, she is just like you.  I am humbled once again.  I am so attracted to a strong constitution.  Our next meeting is on Tuesday after school.  I hope it is well attended.  

Our family went to the viewing and funeral of our Dear Uncle Jack Killion on Thursday evening and Friday.  There were so many people there.  A little boy , about the age of 4,  was leaving the church, after the viewing.  He said, Daddy, there are a LOT OF PEOPLE here.  That was a testimony to the great man who lived.  John, his eldest son, said in the eulogy, that there weren't many tears coming through the receiving line.  Everyone was smiling and recalling wonderful memories.   I can attest to that. Uncle Jack gave us experiential gifts.  He and Aunt Sis gave us tangible gifts as well, but the experiential gifts were blue moments.  At the grave site, there were approximately 250 in attendance.  After the final prayer and before we were handed red roses to place on the coffin, Shawn, my daughter noticed 2 butterflies that were dancing above the coffin.  She said, Mom did you see the butterflies?   I thought, yes, I did because she was so excited and described the moment with such detail.  But I didn't really see the butterflies.  I thought, darn, I wish I would have seen them.   And my next thought was, no, I am happier that she saw them, because they were a god wink for her, and perhaps will encourage her to look for those blue moments that present themselves to her in life.   I commented, earlier that I saw Uncle Jack and Aunt Sis dancing, in my mind's eye, as he entered heaven.  And the butterflies were their way of affirming my beautiful vision.   Thank you God, for our Uncle Jack and Aunt Sis Killion.  They were gifts to all of us in this life.  When I shared the moment with my friend Tim, I said, How do you teach faith?  He said, you model it.  I knew that answer.  I am thankful that for the 26 years that I have had my Shawn, I modeled my faith and she "gets it!"   Thank you, God, for allowing me to witness her faith!

On Friday night we went to OCNJ for the weekend and for the block party on Asbury Avenue.  The Lynch's invited us down again this year to their home and we had the most wonderful time.  We had crab cake sandwiches, lobster sandwiches, calamari, and the most delicious ice tea that is a concoction of sorts.  Tim and I love it, and I think it is the Mount Punch that we made for all the open houses we ran for Mount St. Joseph Academy for  so many years.  I have the recipe and plan to make it and see if I'm correct.  Tim and I got so excited over that tea! 

I ran into a woman at Weichert Realty named Aria Mazer.  She created the most beautiful logo for Breast Cancer awareness.   It says Celebrate Birthday's Toast Pink and had the breast cancer awareness ribbon turned upside down to look like a martini glass.  Absolutely beautiful!  We talked at great length and I made a new friend!  I would love to work with her on a project in the future.  We discussed some ideas, and somehow, I believe we were supposed to meet. God is so AWESOME. She is a piece of my puzzle.  She fits perfectly.  She whispered in my ear, take me with you on your journey.  She touched my heart.  God Bless, Aria.

And so my wish for you this evening, is that you have trust.  It is hard to imagine that when something terrible happens to you in your life, or something perceived as terrible, that there could possibly be something good that could come of it.  Something far beyond your wildest imagination.  But I am here to tell you, that my life after breast cancer is truly magnificent.  I am doing things I never thought I would do.  I am listening to my heart and intuition and they are not failing me.  I trust that everything will turn out as it should and Thank God everyday.  It's a Wonderful Life!

En` Joy,

Marialyce