Thanksgiving weekend is just winding down as I sit here tonight. It was a good weekend in spite of me having to work quite a bit. Our outdoor ice rink kicked off our seventh season with some drizzle on Thursday and Friday, but much nicer weather on Saturday and Sunday. Lilly has been off of school since Wednesday and has been her usual over active self. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving feast at Amy's house with her family along with my Mother and Father In-Law.
A couple of weeks ago, Lilly and I traveled north to Buffalo for a quick weekend with the family. While there, Colleen had told me that Emily had done an Oral Presentation at School about Lori. I asked Emily if I could have a copy of it to post here. Emily is 15 years old. Her story recalls the events of March 11th through her eyes. So here it is, word for word.
The date of March 11, 2010 was one of the saddest days of my life that I can remember. I was coming home from school and I was pretty excited because it was Thursday and tomorrow I got to skip school because I had a gymnastics meet in Jamestown that morning. It was my favorite gymnastics meet which made things even more exciting. At this meet, which was called Lucky Stars, the 1st place trophy is about 2ft tall. I had gotten this trophy once before and I was hoping I could get it again this year. I was so excited that my last day of school for this week was over and I could finally go home and start preparing and packing for my meet.
I remember walking up my driveway after a hard day at school, smiling because I knew I didn't have to wake up and catch a bus the next day. I finally walked up and opened the garage door. I saw my sister crying being held by my Father, I knew something was wrong. I came in and said, "Dad? What's wrong?" He said to come in. He said "Em, Aunt Lori passed away last night." All I remeber was not knowing what to think or do. I grabbed onto my sister and held her tight as tears streamed down my face. He told us that my Uncle had called last night and he didn't want to tell us until today so the school day would be easier. He said he wanted to tell me and my 2 sisters all together but my cousin called my sister Courtney and began to tell her before she knew we didn't know yet. I said "this can't be happening."
My Aunt and Uncle lived in North Carolina so we were going to drive there the next day for the funeral and wake. I thought oh my gosh, I'm missing my gymnastics meet. My Dad said that wouldn't be a problem missing it and he would call the coaches. I was a little relieved but not nearly satisfied from the news that I was just told. My Aunt Lori was one of my favorite Aunts. She was one of the many unlucky people who had to battle cancer. She was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer 8 years ago. I was in the 2nd grade and didn't know what it was at the time. All I knew was that my Mom was telling me "Aunt Lori is sick". I didn't know what she meant, she never looked sick? Until she got her chemo therapy and began to lose her hair. I was still pretty young so I still didn't know what it meant.
As I got older her cancer began to go away. She was in remissions for a while. She decided that she wanted a family. My Uncle and Aunt adopted a little girl named Lilly from Russia while my Aunt was still healthy. Lilly who is now 5 years old was my Aunt's pride and joy. They lived a perfect life together for about 1 year. Until, the cancer came back. Everything began to go down hill from there. Even though her cancer continued to spread, you would have never known. She was always happy and never wanted anyone to know anything was wrong with her. She always had a smile on her face no matter how much pain she was in. She would always make jokes and put everyone before herself.
I wanted to honor her today because she meant the world to me and her attitude towards life was always optimistic. She wanted her daughter to think of her as a Mom that would always be there for her and would always love her. When my Aunt became very sick she was not able to provide all the things she wanted to for her daughter. She was constantly in the hospital for weeks at a time. She would rarely see her little girl that she only spent so little time with even before she was sick. She never gave up on anything though, which I think is one of her most important traits. Honoring her is something she deserves because she was such a fighter and one of the most important people in my life.
She fought through so many hard times in her life but never let it effect her. Sadly, her battle was lost this year. I will never forget her positive attitude and sense of humor. She will never be forgotten from my heart and my memories.
~ Emily Bondanza ~
I am not sure how Emily read this as an oral presentation. Each time I read it, tears come to my eyes. It is remarkable how Lori has made an impact on so many lives. I am so proud of Emily not just for writing this, but for also having the confidence and character to being willing to share it with Me and with all of you. We love you Emily!