It’s been busy here as the school year has come to an end. Since we last spoke, there have been two big events. The first was Micah’s senior trip. This trip was supposed to go to Israel, but just like when Hannah was a senior, war broke out and the plan changed. Hannah’s trip needed to be completely canceled, and she went to Albania on a mission trip instead. This year, instead of canceling, the destination got changed to Rome.
Micah and I spent a week on this trip, and it was amazing! We traveled with Hannah Story tracts and handed them out wherever opportunity presented itself. Because we were in Rome, English was not always spoken. (Since Rome was founded around 3,000 years ago, they speak Roman, right?! No, they used to speak Latin, but now they speak Italian.) So, we primarily gave Hannah’s Story to people who helped us along the way. Bus drivers, tour guides, hotel staff got them and people at the airports also got them. Who knows the limits of the impact of her story?! When we tried to give them to someone who didn’t know English, we ended up pointing, gesturing, smiling, and shrugging our shoulders before we each said an awkward goodbye to each other. In Rome we saw lots of history, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us.
The second thing that happened was that Micah graduated from high school the week after the trip. For us these are exciting yet hard days. It’s great to see our children growing up and thriving in life, but it also is a very poignant reminder of our loss. These were the days we were living not too long ago with Hannah. It’s like we are reliving that time in our lives all over again! To us, since her passing, Hannah hasn’t aged. So, it seems like we are just a few months away from Micah and her being at that same point in time where her life ended. We know that there’s no correlation between her passing and Micah’s future, but yet that age gap has almost closed now and that proverbial “glass ceiling” is almost here. By the second week of November, Micah will surpass her in his education and although it’s technically not true, he will become our oldest child. These “highs” we live now were just a build up to the most difficult time in our lives one school year ago. Now it’s hard for us as parents to celebrate with Micah without feeling a strong desire to cringe because of Hannah’s accident.
Anyway, this is our life. We remember, adapt, and move forward. Micah followed in Hannah’s footsteps and has completed twenty-seven college credits through dual enrollment. He has been working hard at Menards too along the way to save money for his education. This fall he will begin his on-campus college career at Carroll University. He is working and studying to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy. In August he will be going on a medical mission trip to Kenya, Africa with the same group that Hannah went with to Albania. Like Hannah, Micah wants to use his life and education to help other people, and we could not be happier for him.
We are blessed
P.S. We can’t do this alone. If you would like to donate to Hannah Helps:
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Thank You!
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