DeForest Girls Go to State...Again, and Time Keeps on Rolling

Approaching May 10 and the one year anniversary of Aaron's death, I am constantly seeing reminders of events from a year ago when Aaron was home and our life was..., well normal. These reminders are many happy memories and yet they are like hour or minute markers on a clock; as each passes we get closer to the fateful day and further from the time Aaron lived. I don't prefer either.

This Thursday the DeForest Girls basketball team plays in the State Tournament for the second year in a row. Many, many fun, funny, and happy Aaron memories come to mind of the last March madness. I'll share one here.

Know this, Aaron was glad to be home from the Northwest US. But, he knew he could not be in DeForest High School. Aaron was enrolled at Horizon High School in Madison. That's where his body and mind went every day while his old friends were wrapping up senior year at DAHS. Aaron's heart was with his friends at DeForest.

Aaron lived in Oregon and Idaho for 13 months prior to returning home at the end of January '05. He had become a child of the Northwest in appearance (blue jean jacket, sandals or moccasins, and shaggy hair) and accent (I recall it but I don't remember it).

Aaron never lost his impatience or frustration with me. The first day of the tournament was no exception. Typical for Madison and basketball tournaments, a heavy wet snow fell that day. Aaron wanted to be home to go to The Kohl Center at a specific time with friends. I could not make that happen as I was in Madison and Aaron was at school just minutes from my office. Driving home 35 minutes to then drive back 35 minutes did not make sense and I am all about making sense. To Aaron it was disaster: "I'll never find them and I'm not sitting by myself or with you."

I picked Aaron up at school and we went to The Kohl Center with me explaining it will be easy to find the friends as the schools all sit in a designated area. In Aaron's mind I was wrong of course and this was going to be a mess. We walked from the parking garage to the game, Cathy, Patrick, his friends and me a good ten steps and then a half block behind Aaron who trudged on with his head down.

No more did he enter the door when he met his party and they were off and running. Cathy and I took our seats with other parents and searched the stands looking for our two boys and their respective friends. Aaron was easy to spot. His friends all were wearing DeForest Senior T-shirts or DeForest Pride T-shirts. Aaron was wearing a blue jean jacket. Patrick was a different story, but we eventually found him with his 8th grade pals.

As the game went on, Cathy and I did not know how Aaron was adjusting as an "outsider" back in the mix. Sports, which once were his purpose, were now an event of his past. Aaron was more interested in music, guitar, and nature.

We couldn't see Aaron much during the game with all the cheering going on, but sometime near the end of the game we got a different view. With DeForest pulling an upset and the student section going bananas, a Kohl Center camera focused on two boys. The view from the camera showed up on the Big Screen above the court. There he was, Air-Bear in his brown rice eating, back packing, liberal attitude, mop hair, and blue jean jacket, right next to his honor roll, college bound buddy Eric (Doc) Leonhart. The boys were jumping up and down, laughing and pointing at themselves on the Jumbo Tron! Ahh, relief. He looked like a part of the group again if not in attire, certainly in happiness.

The next day Aaron was properly attired for game two. I recall either Eric or Abbey gave Aaron a class shirt to wear to the game. He fit in as if he'd never left. Cathy and I felt a calmness we had not known for a long time. Aaron was adjusting and life looked like it could be healthy again for all of us.

Tic. Tic. Tic. Tic.....


Does anyone have a picture that includes Aaron at the games?
Tom