A New Way of Thinking

    Due to all of the chaos of summer, I ended up dropping my fall semester. I spent that time working on a fundraiser for my nephew to help with all of the medical bills he was incurring while fighting the cancer. By November we had worked something out with the Hyatt Lost Pines... a group of amazing, generous people... we would use their facilities for the fundraising event. Former Texas State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos would  be our M.C. Everything seemed to be coming together. Several bands volunteered their time and talent, rounding out the event which I called "Medicinal Tunes."

 

The Flyer came together nicely!!!

    Just before the event Ronnie was being pummeled by his treatments and we were afraid that he would be too weak to attend the fundraiser. The Hyatt prepared for him by making recliners available for him and Ashley (who was about 7 months pregnant by then) so they could be comfortable. 

    The morning of the event Stephen and his Dad went out to the Hyatt and started to cook the meat... almost thirty briskets and over one hundred pounds of sausage. I had a shoot that morning so I rushed off. After completing my shoot I had to get my two of my sons so we could go out to set up.  The Hyatt had an entire staff of volunteers who all wanted to help Ronnie so we were blessed that when we arrived most of the tables and chairs were already set up. My boys started to cover the tables and help unload things. Everything was coming together nicely. 

    The Hyatt provided us with a cashier and a coordinator so all I had to do is keep him informed of how things were going to be done and he would be sure everything was ready in advance. The sound guy they provided free of charge was amazing as well. This left me free to concentrate on my speech and introduction of the former Senator. I was nervous because I had never handled an event like this on my own. Thankfully I had an amazing media teacher who believed in me and allowed me to believe in myself so.... I was ready to rock!

    Ronnie's friends began to arrive and everything looked amazing. I met with Gonzalo as he arrived. He was tired from his dedication the day before. His wife had passed away the year before and the city of Austin created the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in her honor. I attended the event and knew it had drained Gonzalos' energy and put a strain on his spirit. 

                                      A few images from that event- in dedication to her memory....

 

Speaking fondly of his wife...

A moment of silence and remembrance...

    Gonzalo, being a man who loves his community and is faithful to his friends, was there for us. His words of encouragement meant a lot to our family and especially Ronnie. We are so grateful that he could be our M.C. When he had to leave I took over. That was pretty scarey but we got through it and the night was perfect. Ronnie was so glad to see all of his friends.... all at once. He had an amazing time even though he was exhausted from treatment. The bands were amazing and the food was great- and gone!   

   After all of this, we realized that life is too short to be working all the time.  We wanted to experience life. Our number could be called at any moment and this is not the life we wanted to remember. We made a plan to change everything that we hated about our lives and start all over. Every day's a new day!