Ground Control to Zookeeper

Hello! Hello! Yup I am here, I think. All the cliches are true again. Everyone said when I closed the shop I would wonder how I ever did it all...I am stunned. But then again I did do less outside the shop, because I was actually at work. I have exciting news in the business department but that will wait a few days. I have so much else to say.
1. Dad nailed it. He and his dance partner were amazing. They won the online vote, the People's Choice award, best male dancer, and best "team". We were completely beside ourselves. I am going to plagiarize and paste a paragraph from Dad's thank you note that he sent supporters. Read closely. There is a message. "I must tell you that Saturday night was one of those experiences that will never, ever fade into oblivion. After all 25 forty-minute training sessions, our routine was really a stand out. The whole evening was great fun and everyone there seemed to enjoy themselves. It certainly was one of those challenges that takes you out of your comfort zone. To win made the whole effort even more rewarding. If you ever accept a challenge like this: choose your partner wisely, choose a good cause (if it is a charity), line up loyal supporters, and GO FOR IT!"

2. I am spreading myself a little thin in the volunteer department, but it seems worth it. I hung up a list of all the charities I am involved with and then panicked a bit. Right now this is a full time job. I will however share my moment today. You loyal readers will remember the Kelly Corrigan event. Well that is what we do in the Spring. In the Fall, Planters awards scholarships to LPNs who are in school to become RNs. The scholarships are named after my late maternal grandmother, Lois Odence. We have a nice luncheon, usually over 100 people attend, and we present the scholarships. That is coming up November 10th. Following is the email I sent to my fellow committee members tonight. "Tonight I had the moment, the one where all the emails over fudge sauce, all our meetings, all our flower arranging, all our application reviews, all of these things come together...and BOOM! I am standing at the Country Club with Trevor (after the golf tournament) and Trisha waves me over to this woman who is sobbing. She has just been told that she is a recipient of a Lois Odence Nursing Scholarship. And we just stand there hugging and crying. Never have I been so sure that what we do together matters. Her boyfriend just told her not to worry that she didn't get the money-they'd make it work. We changed her life tonight. And in turn she will be an amazing nurse and she will change other peoples lives.I know that there is one VERY proud Angel watching over us...let's keep up the good work!"

3. Message from the Zoo tonight. Go make a difference in someone else's life. You will be surprised at what a difference it will make in your own life.
Kisses from the ZOO