Days with the Dorans

Today was MY second annual PanCan Stride. It's hard to believe that it has been over a year since we lost Jennie. Jen W. arranged it again so we were on a team and we raised nearly $2000. We were a small team though. It was only us three teachers, Jen's daughter, Jennie's uncle, and Jeff. I'm glad Jeff came with me. Ali came with me last year but she is still at school. I half expected Jeff to say no but he didn't hesitate saying he'd come. I think he thought at first it was a run (it wasn't~ though we both talked about how we thought if they made it a run they'd make more money- runners LOVE races!). I was decked out in purple but we realized that Jeff didn't have any. We're going to have to change that for next year. It was a gray, gloomy day and I found my eyes leaking more than once. It just seems so cruel that she's not here. We used to text nearly every day and as I was saying to Jeff- it was a friendship that was kind of just the two o...

A month or so ago, I got an email from a former parent letting me know that her daughter, Bianca, had the lead in the upcoming musical, Cinderella! She said that one of the first things she said that was Mrs. Doran and Mrs. Aaronson (music) would be so excited for her! And we were! I put out an all-call to our staff to see if anyone else wanted to see the show with us. I was so excited that we had a little fan club that went.  Before the show we had dinner and Benstein Grille and it was just so nice getting together and catching up. Work gets so crazy and busy and I am very guilty of not making time to catch up with people. It was so much fun. The show was great and Bianca sounded so good with the male lead (Diego who Z kind of new of from swimming). I was really impressed with him because boys aren't usually as strong as the girls and they were equally matched and he acted well too! Bianca is only a junior too so we'll get to do this all again next year too! YAY!!! And~ I ran ...

I had therapy on Monday and I was telling her that I was in a good place and thankfully all the fam seemed in good places. I mentioned that Jeff and I were going to see Hamilton next month and she said, Oh my gosh! You need to go to Suffs! And use student rush! I think there are seats for tomorrow! Now I knew NOTHING about Suffs but I heard that for Student Rush~ what you do is go to the box office when it opens (or as soon as you can in our case) and try to get seats. With a HS or college ID, you can get two tickets for jusst $30! We figured even if we couldn't get the seats (I REALLY wanted to go) if we didn't get them, we could at least eat in the D or something... Well! We got tickets! THREE of them in row N for just $90! After we got the tickets we had some time to kill so we walked to a place called Zo's where I had a yummy chicken wrap and the boys had milkshakes (they ate before we left). Then it was time for the show. Our seats were AMAZING and it was absolutely on...

A picture of the whole fam... The Bigs were on FT. ZACH IS 19!!! I can't believe this is his last year as a teen! He's grown a ton I feel like since he's been away at school and it's so fun watching him get so excited for his future! He loves school and Traverse City and he has a girlfriend who could potentially keep him in Michigan... We'll see. The thought of not seeing him on his birthday felt wrong to me. I always take off Joey and Andrew's birthday, Ali is always home for hers (because of the holiday) and even Sean's felt weird so we made a point to all get together. Still we didn't TELL Z we were going to come up~ mostly because this was a kind of last minute idea of my own. His birthday was on a Thursday and so I had my class facetime with him and sing "Sto Lat" which he got a big kick out of! (but we woke him up). My friend Nicole, who also teaches music with me, has started her own cupcake business and so I told her to make a dozen cup...

We don't see my brother and his fam all that much anymore. Everyone is so busy and I do miss it. I am always glad when we get together for birthdays! TZ's fell on a Sunday which was nice so we could spend some time with them! In addition to the three of us, my folks came and so did his Auntie Carrie and Auntie Linsey. We also got to see the Kelsos which was nice. They are good friends with my brother. It was a gorgeous day! It's still weird to me not having the other kids with us but we facetimes so they could wish him a happy birthday and sing sto-lat to him as he blew out the candles on the "warm chocolate chip cookie" that he requested his sister make him. My mom made him this cute rhino too! She's been making all the kids these little sweet things and they tend to be the favorite. My mom even made one for Maddy's best friend since she said she wanted one! I wish I was that talented! And you have to love social media for birthdays. Ali made this for Tim...

I have loved my job the last few years! I was in a bad space after Covid but it's good to be back. I enjoy going to work each day and I really feel like I have hit my groove! I have happy kids and they're growing and I'm so proud of them and the magic that happens in Room 119! Every Friday (for years), I have had a "Mystery Reader" come in at the end of the day. I learned that this week the Grandma that was going to come in couldn't make it and so I asked Jeff if he could come. Since he's moved to his current job, he's so much happier AND one of the districts he services is MINE so he is close. He will sometimes stop by with a tea and muffin (or diet Dr. Pepper) and so the kids have seen "Mr. Doran" before. His clues were: 1. This person works with kids of all ages. 2. This person used to play soccer in HS and college. 3. This person plays guitar 4. This person has been coming to LLE for a LONG time. Well, they TOTALLY thought it was Jeff unt...

They say that time flies when you're having fun and it certainly has! I can't believe it's been 25 years since we walked down that aisle. At 25 years old- it felt like we were kids! We were! Marriage has not always been easy but we've really learned to put in the effort and check in with each other. I'd say that we are not the people we were then, or even ten years ago~ but we keep choosing each other and life definitely is better together! We found out that the 25th wedding anniversary is "silver" so I got Jeff a funny apron that says, "My wife is hotter than my grill" and tossed in some silver tongs (from our kitchen drawer). He got me GORGEOUS diamonds on silver posts! I did not expect this as we usually don't do that, but I love them! We had a delicious dinner at El Barzon in Detroit. It was a suggestion from my therapist and she gives me the best tips! I've been in a good head space for a while now but it's worth meeting just to ...

We were lucky that Ali and her roomy, Hannah, came home to watch the dogs a bit and relieve Garrett (we are so lucky that he comes to watch our zoo). Easter feels a bit different now that the kids are older. One we were not together but two, I've been really struggling with the church (the institution- not Jesus- we're still very close and talk each night). There are so many horrific things going on in this country that the church seems to be turning an eye to and the hypocrisy sickens me! So I will continue to follow Christ but not so much that other stuff. I actually feel really good about it and know He understands. We're all in a good place about that, I'd say. While we had a moment (not even 24 hours) together, we still didn't get our Joe. It's good to know though that he has friends who are like family out in Kalamazoo! I miss him but love getting little updates- especially when the occasional picture is involved!  

There are times that the internet can be a beautiful thing... While in MB, I got a FB message from someone in Norway who I may be related to. It was very cool! We wrote back and forth a bit and I would love to know more but we'll see. I am going to take some pictures of my Nana's bible and send it to her so she can see it.