I got on the road this morning at about 6 AM and got back to Burlington in time for my noon face to face meeting. The drive back was beautiful and restful.. Got some good work done on the phone. I had a full day of meetings at work then came home to find the septic project complete. I’m glad it’s done.. but the yard is a mess.   The guys did a really nice job with the install and with restoring the yard to some semblance of flat.. but now we have these really freaky hatches and tubes sticking out of our grass. It’ll take some getting used to.

 The back step had to be removed for the work which revealed some bad rot around the sill.. We have to fix that before we replace the back step.. so for now.. it’s a long way up or down from the back yard.

Tonight Gabe had lacrosse practice.. He got a ride while Diane and I went to S. Burlington High School to hear Ralph give a presentation for his public speaking class. There were about 14 kids in the class. Each one did a short piece as a tribute to a, parent, mentor or  friend. They all did such a great job !

Ralph had written his about Sam… so that’s why we were invited !

The teacher had written the secret to success on the podium…

Each kids tribute was so heartfelt. I think the format allowed

several of these kids to say publicly stuff that they couldn’t say

privately to their parents. It was really touching.

Ralphs peice on Sam was the last one. it was such a wonderful message. Ralph talked abotu Sam’s easy freindship, his snowboarding skills, his music… and his bravery . It made me cryt and smile at the same time. I was so glad to be there to hear it .. I could feel Sam close by as he read.