P!nk... meet Claire!

A few days ago there was an article shared in one of my Moyamoya groups about a little boy in Australia who was going to meet his hero, Johnny Depp. He'd shared a picture of himself on Facebook and it went around the world and got in front of the right people and - ahh the wonders of social media - Captain Jack was going to see him.

Which got me thinking...

When the subject of Make a Wish came up when Claire went through what we now know is the first of several surgeries, Claire said, "well, I can't go to Disney so that's out. But I'd really like to meet P!nk. Oh, and go to Paris!"

In the course of testing, diagnosis, surgery, recovery, relapse, TIAs, more testing - you get the picture - the dream of meeting P!nk got pushed to the side. Until today. So, here's my open letter to P!nk...

Dear P!nk:

Is it okay to call you P!nk? I hope so. I'd like to take a second, mom to mom, to introduce you to your #1 Fan, my 11-year-old daughter, Claire.  She's been your fan since, well, always. At 6 she knew all the words to "Funhouse" - all the words.  

Claire's favorite song is "So What" - she can rock the heck out of it at karaoke. Her vocal coach has worked with her on "Just Give Me a Reason" but she struggles with the low notes.  And she doesn't have Nate Ruess to sing with her.

She loves it when you're on Ellen. We watch the clips when she gets out of school. Her favorite one is when you talked about dancing around and being goofy with Willow and how you think it's funny when she's mad at you. She could totally relate to how Willow must feel.

In the interest of full disclosure, as much as she likes your love songs, she thinks your songs from "Funhouse" are, well, funnier. Ahhhh, she's 11. She has a few more years before she will learn the truth about love.

Watching videos of your performance of "Glitter in the Air" at the Grammys made her want to learn how to do silks.  Yeah - she thinks it's pretty badass that you can sing so beautifully while doing all your own stunts. Claire is a kid who can appreciate badassery.

See, two years ago Claire was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable brain disease called Moyamoya. She'd suffered multiple hemorrhagic strokes before being diagnosed and underwent brain surgery in December of 2012 when she was nine.

Since then, she's suffered dozens of mini-strokes, learned how much fun it is to be driven around in an ambulance, had more IV sticks and needle pokes than I'd like to think about, and in just a few months will be meeting with her neurosurgeon to discuss when her next surgery will be.

And before that happens... she'd kind of like to meet you.

We wanted to see your concert in 2014 but we missed the dates that were close to us. And we've been watching to see if you're doing another concert in 2015 - but haven't seen any news yet

I know you're busy being a mom, and a wife, and an overall superstar in Malibu and we live in Podunk, Michigan. But... the kid has a dream and it's my job to try to put those dreams within her reach.

So, here's my request: if you're ever in Michigan, can we meet you and say hi? Because I'd really like it if my hero could meet hers.

xoxo

Andrea

A Tale of Two Pictures (and Five Years)

Today is Quinn’s 14^th birthday. It’s pretty fabulous for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being; I have managed to raise a child to teenagehood.  And he’s a pretty great kid at that.

But as I have manically bought presents, arranged entertainment, organized cupcakes and lunch to be delivered to him at school... I have reflected on the birthdays past.

It started when my BFF posted this:  We still speak of the most epic birthday bash ever. Happiest birthday wishes & the biggest hugs & most love ever to our little Quinny.

She is speaking, of course, about Quinnapalooza.  When Quinn was eight, he entered an essay contest for Nickelodeon Universe’s Ultimate Birthday Party. You can read about it here: Quinnapalooza

Part of me still can’t believe he won. Out of 1,500 applicants, they chose him. I remember asking Nickelodeon’s head of marketing why they chose Quinn. I figured they had to have gotten essays from kids who were dying from some horrible disease, or kids who had never had a birthday party because their families were poor. Why Quinn?  Her answer?

Because he didn’t want to win it for him. He wanted to win it for all the kids he never got to invite to his other birthday parties.

Partying with 99 Friends

Quinn was the King of Third Grade for three whole months and then we moved to Michigan. Things got pretty bumpy there for a while.  He went from having an amazing group of friends and protectors to having, well, no one really.

When Quinn started 7^th grade, there was a day when he sat down at a lunch table, and everyone got up and left. One girl who he had known from his previous elementary school saw him, and she left her table of friends and sat with him, so he didn’t have to eat his lunch alone. I remember him telling me that story and my heart breaking into a million pieces. 7^th grade was hard for both mother and son.

This year, things are so different. Quinn has friends. Good friends. Friends he made all on his own. He even has a best friend, Ryon, who we want to adopt, we like him so much. So, for Quinn’s birthday, we brought in Jimmy John’s and cupcakes to surprise his friends.

King for the day

It’s hard to explain – the moms who have gone through this heartbreak will get it, and the moms who haven’t, won’t – but my heart swelled when I saw Quinn sitting at a table with a group of kids who had no idea treats were coming their way. They were there because they’re friends, and they eat together. I wanted to hug each one of them.

And then... the girl who had sat with Quinn when he was alone last year came up and said, “Wow! You have the coolest parents EVER!” And Quinn offered her a sandwich and a cupcake and I had to leave before I started to cry and embarrass the crap out of my 14 year old son.

Here’s to being King again, if only for today.