The Good, the Bad, and What The Heck

I hate starting off with the bad because what you say first is usually what sticks with people. I guess that's the psychology side of me coming out, but unfortunately that's where I need to start. Ethan Loney, only 2 years old, lost his battle with cancer last Friday. We released balloons in honor of him. Before we did that, I had to explain why to GG. Her poor little heart broke. Being a child she naturally had questions and I did my best to work through the tears to answer them. I have cried enough since I heard this news, so that's all I want to discuss about the bad for now. So moving on to the good...

If you've been reading my ramblings for a while, then you probably know where I stand on sports. If you're new here, you should probably know


When it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they are always doing something good. Whether it's as a team or as individuals. Ethan's final wish was to meet Sidney Crosby, who I also love. Finally Ethan received the news that he would get this opportunity. Sid personally called him last week and invited Ethan to practice on Friday. Sadly Ethan passed before he could make it to practice. But the way I see it, he got a part of his wish, which is way better than nothing at all. Not very many kids get to talk on the phone with Sid the Kid and I can only imagine the smile Sid put on that little boy's face. What makes me even prouder of my favorite hockey team is that Sidney Crosby posted a status on his Facebook page about Ethan. That just goes to show, in my opinion, that this wasn't being done for publicity. It was because he genuinely cared.

Now on to the what the heck. I wish I was 4 years old for many reasons. But today I just wanted to understand what the heck Little Dude was talking about. In a dumbed down way, I explained why we were releasing balloons. Being only 4, I didn't think he would grasp the reality of the situation. And his questions confirmed that. I said we were releasing balloons, emailing our pictures to SupahMommy, and she would put everyone's pictures together. After we watched our balloons float up in the sky, Little Dude asked

"How will the lady with the long hair and papers get the balloons?"

When I asked what lady, he said the one from the museum with all the papers. Still not sure, I asked who he was talking about once more.

"The lady with the long hair we saw when waiting in line at the place with the Jeep and old rides."

I finally figured it out!

Last weekend we went to see the Stanley Cup at the History Center. While we were waiting in the line that never ended, there was a lady who worked at the center holding a bunch of papers. She was trying to get people to pay for a membership because then the wait to see the Cup would be much shorter. While we were waiting, we saw the first Jeep ever made and one of the original trains from the Racer at Kennywood. How the heck did he associate that trip with our balloon release?!?! After we came inside I had to go to Supah's blog and find her picture. I then explained that I put our pictures on my computer and would email them to that lady in the picture.

So there you have it ~ the good, the bad, and the what the heck. 2 of which I'm still trying to figure out.


Until next time....