Mary, who submitted the winning nomination, lives in Cedar Hills next to the Rowley family - Richard & Nikki and their brood of three children. Their oldest, McCoy, just had an operation to remove part of his innards due to Crohn's disease. His sister, Desmon, had a similar operation for a similar reason, and was recently diagnosed with leukemia, which is unrelated to Crohn's (except that Desmon is the rarest case of having both). Brock is the youngest. His health is good, as long as his lungs are working right - he has asthma. Mary nominated the Rowley's to receive a big "R" not simply because they have a hard row to hoe, but because they are so cheerfully hoeing! They are examples to her of taking life as it comes with love and a smile. It was clear to us that these were the right people for the Love Letter.
We intended to deliver our "R" on the 14th of February, but Desmon was in the hospital for the second of five chemotherapy treatments for her leukemia. So it was about a week after Valentine's Day when a "window" of delivery opportunity opened for the Rowley's to be home between chemo sessions. (Actually, Brock - their youngest - was with their grandmother in Arizona, but we had most of them there.) It had snowed that day, so we moved Mary's car as close to the Rowley's front door as we could - we were a little afraid of slipping on the snowy driveway - and Dan, Mary's husband, helped me carry it inside. Once in the house, though, we put the "R" down in a warm living room decorated in a surprisingly complementary color scheme for the rust-streaked finish we used.
The Rowley's were very gracious and happy with this gift from their neighbors. McCoy showed off his incision and Desmon doffed her big hat to display her perfectly bald head. We compared it to pictures of her with long blond hair from a family photo display on the wall, and marvelled at Desmon's and McCoy's good nature on display that very night as they chatted and mingled with us and stood around the "R" for a few pictures.
Life is funny, how it seems to arrange for people's paths to intersect for the benefit of all. Rowley's are now engaged in Desmon's third chemo drill, with two more to follow. There are numerous medical hazards that have to be confronted in connection with what they know of their children's conditions, and there are other conditions that may manifest themselves in the future. But the important thing for the Rowley family (and the important thing for us to remember about them) is not to spend their doubly-precious time in sadness and discouragement when there is a cheerful life to be lived, today and every day. It was good to be with them. Thanks, Mary, for getting us all together.
David Haglund
