July 29 09
The B+ message truly extends across the country. We were very touched to receive a picture from the Lavery family of Georgia. Mark Lavery, and his teammates from the NASA ‘08 Elite - Atlanta team, made it to the US Youth Soccer National Championship in MA a few weeks ago. Mark’s Mom, Kathy, told the team all about Andrew and the B+ message, movement, and Foundation. All of the team members signed a B+ shirt and posed for a picture. Thank you, NASA ‘08 Elite - Atlanta, for “Living Like Andrew” and embracing the B+ message. And, a special thank you to Kathy Lavery for being a B+ Ambassador in Georgia!!!
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I hope you will find the prayer below interesting and thought-provoking. Sometimes we don’t stop and think about what we know by rote memory.
A more elementary translation of one of the most famous of prayers…
“Dear Father up in Heaven,
you are the most holy of all,
your plan covers Heaven and Earth,
please give us what we need to live - from food and shelter to faith, love, and compassion-
please forgive us for not always being the best people we can be,
we are going to try hard to forgive others too,
and please help us to make all of the right choices in life. You’re the best. Thanks.” (anonymous)
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Finally, while I know that I shared this story a long time ago, I know we have some new viewers who might enjoy reading this. With the current heat and humidity, memories come back to me of Andrew’s summer after 8th grade when he “visited” virtually every swim club in northern New Castle County. (He didn’t belong to any of them, by the way. ) A mom sent me a note after Andrew went to Heaven and it just epitomizes who Andrew was in this world. She watched as a large group of “teenagers” entered the swim club gates. Her 4 year old (?) son was playing near the entrance at the same time. As she watched to ensure that her son was OK, she noticed that one boy - a tall, blond, curly-haired boy- left the group to play with her son. For the next 20-30 minutes, the teenager (yes, Andrew) taught the boy how to play soccer. The boy’s grandfather was there as well and commented how refreshing it was to see. The little boy was so excited over his time with Andrew that he subsequently asked his mother (repeatedly) whether his friend Andrew would be at the pool the next day and so on. What is really special about this story is that Andrew did this just because he had a big heart. He wasn’t trying to show off nor did he ever tell me about this. This was just Andrew being Andrew! Andrew was so much more complex than virtually everyone knows. He could hang with the older kids one minute, be gentle with a small child the next, and talk with adults after that. So many people never really saw the sensitive side that Andrew had. He was such a blessing to have in this world.
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I hope everyone is making the most of the summer. Ali has been busy working at Marini’s Produce and she’ll be a camp counselor in a couple of weeks at Kay’s Kamp, the first oncology camp in Delaware. She is going to be such an asset to the “Kamp”. And, she’s keeping busy with the Jonas Brothers, David Cook, Demi Lovato, and Taylor Swift concerts. It’s so nice having her around!
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Live Like Andrew - HAVE FUN!
B+
Ali’s & Andrew’s Dad
www.BePositive.org