The truth is that most kids don’t even have a father like Michael. But Elizabeth and Malaina have him as a big brother. I have known Michael since he was a tiny baby and as much as I can’t believe he just turned 21, it is so nice to see what a great man he has become! Michael, we need more people like you in this world!
When we moved to our new house 2 years ago, we would always see this friendly white cat with little black spots on his nose while walking to the park. We saw him so frequently, but did not know his name. So Ethan, my then 4 year old, named him Whitey. Over time, Whitey began coming to our door and eventually started sneaking inside. We didn’t know the owners, but were assured by several neighbors that although he had a home, he was a “neighborhood cat” and that he had lots of other houses that he visited as well. He was quiet, I only heard him meow a handful of times. He was also sweet and layed back and in his old age just enjoyed coming to our house and laying on the couch or the floor next to us while my boys would sit and pet him with huge smiles on their faces. Jack my little one, would enthusiastically tell people almost on a daily basis, “Whitey is a cat that comes to visit us and he is SO nice! He doesn’t even bite us!!!” Eventually we found out his real name was Snowflake and he lived three houses down the street with a nice family.
A few months back my next door neighbor called out to me while I was getting home from somewhere and told me she had some bad news. Whitey had gone to sleep under his favorite tree that morning and later in the day his family found him dead. He was old and it was his time, but we will still miss him.
To Snowflake’s family, thank you for sharing your precious kitty with all of the neighbors. And to Whitey, thank you for being our friend and sharing part of your happy life with us. Rest in Peace.
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I have known Jill since we went to Westfield high together. Then she cut my hair for a while at Puffer’s Hair Salon, boy did she know how to make my thin boring hair look great!! And recently I have reconnected with her on facebook. I have followed her pregnancy, the birth of Lilly – her mini-me, and all of her magical moments of motherhood. Now here is Lilly at 16 months. She’s pretty, feminine, and dainty, but Mom and Dad say she is an energetic tomboy at heart!
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I know that Ty and Angela and their children Mila and Jordan have their own identity, but I will always remember Ty as Shannon’s little brother – the outgoing blond haired blue-eyed eleven year old that loved his big sister. Shannon and I went to school together, go class of 95!! She was always looking out for Ty and he was a nice kid. Well he’s not a kid anymote, he’s a grown man in his early 30’s with his own family! So happy to see how life works out for people, and at the same time wonder how time flies so fast.
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USA Gymnastics is one of those places that we discovered by accident. We went to a few of their open gyms with a friend and the kids loved it! We did trial classes only because they were free and that was when we met Coach Suzie. She was patient, encouraging, and understanding with my toddler and 4 year old, and she seemed to be having fun the whole time right along with them. I then signed both my boys up specifically because of Coach Suzie. I didn’t care if she was a good coach and I didn’t even care what the sport she was teaching. What I did care about is that my kids were around positive role models that are sincere and can see the good in people and Suzie was exactly that. Let me mention that as it turned out she is also a great coach.
As schedules changed and my kids moved up, we weren’t able to stay with Coach Suzie. I cannot speak for every single coach at USA, but I can say that of the coaches we have had, they have all been wonderful. It feels like a serious gym, the coaches are focused and pay attention to what my kids are doing, and they have been able to see their progress and feel good about their achievments. But more importantly it has been a fun happy place to be a part of. The office staff have gotten to know us, the coaches have always made themselves approachable and my kids feel at home and accepted here.
So to Coach Suzie, Coach Krysta, Coach Anthony, Coach Kyle, Coach Steven, Coach Heath, the office staff Alyssa, Margie, Julie, Sandy, Jaime, Elizabeth and anyone else I am forgetting, I can’t thank you enough for everything you do for my kids and our family! And to Mike the owner, I don’t know you well, but you run a wonderful gym, everyone is so great, and I hope you don’t ever change anything becasue to us USA Gymnastics has been perfect!
For more information on USA Gymnastics, click here.
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Julie, Sandy, and Jaime, a few of our favorite staff at USA!
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