Turbulent Tuesday

While I don't usually talk a lot about the SMA community here, it's definitely a part of "Laura's Life", and frankly we are all still really reeling today. Kalair, Skylar, Cassidy, and now Lily. It always hurts to lose a child, and they are all special, but some kids you get to know more intimately, some of these kids I have known longer than I've known my own daughter, and these older girls have paved the way for all the other children who are currently doing so well. These are the kids whose parents were among the first to stand up to the doctors and say "BALONEY, we can do something." And they did. The remaining parents of the older children are scared out of their minds, because this is a battle they don't know how to fight. Mostly I can't believe these girls are gone. I have had a knot in my stomach all day, even as busy as I have been. Any prayers for these families would be appreciated...particularly right now for Amy, who is burying her daughter this week.

As for me, well, it was certainly one of those run-around days. I dropped Kaylee off at school and got home just in time to meet up with the guys who are re-roofing our garage (which looks good by the way). I left home again after I finished getting ready, made it to the SMA bank, the post office, the shipping store, and Glenndale's bank, then went right out to Glenndale where I had a flight with a gentleman in his Cherokee 180. He didn't have an intercom system, so for the first time in probably a decade I flew around without a headset and yelled instructions. :) We landed right at noon, and after signing his logbook, I left and met the fellows at Applebees for lunch. After Applebees I ran home in time to send a couple of work emails, then turned around and went out to a friends' house to pick up their magnetic nail-picker-upper and brought it back home so we could get any roofing nails out of our driveway prior to putting all our cars back on it. I was home for about 15 minutes and threw a load of laundry in, before going out and picking Kaylee up at school. We left from there and went right to Chuck E. Cheese, which she had earned by getting all A's on her report card this last quarter. It cost me $14 just to get in the door, get a drink for both of us, and tokens to "play" with. They asked why we were there, and I said "to celebrate Kaylee getting all A's on her report card." They asked if we brought it, because she'd get free tokens if she had it. We didn't, but we ended up with over 20 free tokens anyway because their machine goofed up. We were honest and told them, but they told us to keep it. So Kaylee ended up with over 430 tickets, with which she bought cotton candy and a mirror with lip gloss. She was most pleased. When we left Chuck E. Cheese, I dropped her off at home with Grandma and Grandpa, and I went out to Glenndale to pick up SC (the 172) and fly it over to Kokomo to meet with a new student. It was a little windy for a person doing their third flight lesson ever, but it went fine and he did well. After almost 2 hours of flying with him, I dropped him back off at Kokomo and brought the 172 back into Glenndale and put it away (all by my lonesome). I headed home and got here in time to help Kaylee with her spelling words and send her to bed kind of late, at almost 9 p.m. I've got a bit more laundry to do, I need a little food, to do this blog entry, and then maybe I'll take a break and relax here. Steve has been flying non-stop all day too. It's just *very* busy around here in the flying realm, and one of our busiest instructors is gone until the end of the month, so Steve in particular is hopping. I'm not exactly sitting over here bored and eating bon-bons either, but he's got me beat for busy...