Hello!  Today marks one year since Reese's accident.  Sometimes it seems like it was just yesterday, other times it feels like it was ages ago.  This week I've had a mixture of anxiety and gratefulness.  Our week looks so similar to one year ago - Reese just got home from basketball camp on Wednesday, Ryan is golfing in the same tournament he was last year, and Macy attended Hamline gymnastics camp this week - just like last year.  It was a weird and eerie feeling at times, but I also felt so very grateful that our life this week looked much the same as our week leading up to the accident.  We are fully aware that our lives could have been vastly different this year, and we are forever grateful.  

Reese is doing amazing.  She finished up 7th grade, and will have one more year left of middle school.  The school year went pretty well for her!  The staff at Centennial was wonderful, her counselor was so great and very helpful- especially in navigating the beginning part of the year.  Reese settled in and had a pretty good year overall.  She noticed in the beginning of the year that her memory wasn't as good as she thought it should be- she'd study for exams, feel like she knew the material, and then the next day she'd have forgotten 25% of it.  We were pretty careful in the way we approached school this year, focusing more on effort and good habits rather than the final grade.  Knowing that certain things might be a bit harder, and what she needed most of all was encouragement, we tried to do exactly that.  We were impressed with her efforts - she rarely complained, and when things were hard she'd take a break and come back to it.   Next week she will be doing 6 hours of neuropsychology testing (which she is super thrilled about! haha).  This will provide more insight into any remaining deficiencies, and will also give some info on how she learns best.  It will be a long day, but we hope the information gathered will be useful moving forward into high school and college.  

Physically, she's doing great!  She's getting close to being back to the shape she was in before the accident.  She was cleared to play basketball for almost the whole season, and then played AAU Spring season basketball after.  Her confidence is coming back, and she's made great strides.  She had a few late night games, and it seemed her reflexes were perhaps a bit slower than normal after a long day.  But even that is improving.  She just got home from 4 days of basketball camp at St. Thomas - they were long, full days of basketball and she did well.  

For those that live in the Lino area - Reese has a new bike and she's been out riding around on it, so you might see her out there!  She's been sticking mostly to the paths and side streets for now, she hasn't felt quite ready to cross Birch yet. The helmet has been a non- issue thusfar......even given what happened to her, she is a teenager, so we worried she'd fight it!  She said "I'm pretty sure all my friends and everyone who knows what happened to me will understand why I'm wearing a helmet!"  Uh, yep, safe to say that's a true statement!  Someday I hope bike helmets will be similar to ski helmets - it's kind of rare to see someone downhill skiing without a helmet these days!  

We remain so thankful again to everyone who crossed paths with us and helped Reese on that day, and every day after.  She would not be where she is without the support of so many people, and we are forever grateful for all of you.  We hope everyone has a great summer!   Thank you again!