A benefit fit for a king. A Sofa King, that is!

Holy wow . . . still reeling from the most amazing day yesterday (Sunday) . . . we are blessed, so very blessed . . . yesterday was evidence that, in the midst of a horrific year, our world is full of amazing people and events . . .and this blog entry is going to fail miserably in trying to convey how incredible the benefit was, how astounding all those who helped plan it are, how in awe Bob and I will be, for a long time to come . . . yesterday was the benefit held in Bob's honor, at Throwbacks Bar and Grill in Woodbury, and there is no way we could have ever been prepared for the day. . . will be feeling the after-effects for a long time to come, peeps. . .

Where the medical community left off, our blessed army of family, friends, co-workers past and present, even complete and utter strangers stepped in, picked up and carried us in ways we could have never imagined, in ways the medical world never has, never possibly could. . . the benefit is just one of endless acts of love and support that underscores this most incredible phenomenon. . .

The benefit has been a work in progress for a very long time; it was first brought up almost right away when Bob's ordeal began over a year ago. I'll admit, I was the one resisting for a very long time, for a million and one reasons, but the main one being I didn't want one if Bob couldn't be in attendance . . . that could not have happened all year—hell, even just a few months ago, Bob was in no condition to go anywhere for so long, much less endure seven-plus hours reconnecting with an endless stream of people who haven't seen him a year or more . . . But yesterday, he was ready. And I was ecstatic, to have him by my side, arriving at the restaurant and being mobbed even before we got into the joint, watching him shake hands, hug, kiss, talk to people he hasn't seen in months and months, seemingly picking up right where he left off so long ago, without missing a beat. All the smiling, laughing, my cheeks ached and we ended up with hoarse voices by the end of the night, with the endless conversations . . . Sofa king amazing. . .

So many people came together to make the event a stellar success, and I know it wasn't an easy feat to pull off, especially with everyone having busy lives of their own to tend to, then adding this to the mix. . . I didn't want any part of the planning, but when both my sisters, my mom, my in-laws and several good friends are involved, well, it's kind of hard not to get sucked in at least a little . . . my sisters, Jill and Gretchen, rocked the house with their endless energy, the planning, the procuring of silent auction items, joined by my mom, in her unassuming yet solid supporting role . . . I owe them hugely . . . Bob's parents created breathtaking pieces of work for the auction: quilts, woodwork items, hand bags, as well as collected generous donations from the southern MN area; Nancy even scored a few donation items from her long-distance connections, and set to work helping dang near as soon as she stepped off the plane on Friday . . . friends Jodi, Ian and Mike, Julie and Lisa busted a move to secure endless more auction items as well as the bake sale goodies and the fantastic entertainment for the day: Uncle Chunk, OTR and 5th Street Bridge bands. . . and I know I'm forgetting someone (or a few someones) and I am soooooo very sorry for that. . . it's late, I'm very tired but I really wanted to get a blog up here, as it's been a while since I rambled incessantly here, and wanted to get a message up while things are still fresh . . . obviously not so fresh any more . . . Oh, I almost forgot the t-shirts and the wristbands, and the beverage donations . . . OH!! and Santa Dan! Can't forget Santa!! (Julie took a great pic of Santa D and Bob, deep in conversation . . . I'll likely be adding to this entry later. . .

I wish I could thank each and every person, business and organization who donated items for the silent auction, but first, I don't think I even know all of them, and second, I don't think there's enough space on the blog to list them all . . . when I wheeled Bob through the auction area, we were both absolutely stunned at the volume and quality of items for auction as well as the fabulous variety—there truly was something for everyone, and items were still arriving the day of the auction. I also wish I could personally thank each and every one who contributed to Bob's benefit fund, not just in the past week or so, but since it's inception several months ago. . . the generosity absolutely humbles us, is so honestly appreciated and renders me speechless . . . we are eternally grateful for each and every dollar bestowed upon us. . . I hope you all know how much this means to us, how much you all mean to us. Every last one of you . . .

I sooooo wish I could have bid on countless items at the auction, there were so many freakin' cool things I would have loved! But that really defeats the purpose of a benefit now, doesn't it . . . as far as I know, everything was purchased, so all the items found good homes! Some people got amazing deals, others bid insane amounts and bid over the retail value on coveted items . . . I'm beginning to detect that there definitely is a unique "silent auction" mentality/phenomenon that goes on at such an event . . . that it's not always so much about getting a good deal as it is about "the big picture . . ." blows my mind . . .

I had the honor and privilege of going through Bob's collection of photographs and helping Bob hand-select the images featured on canvas and in the card selections. I spent countless hours pouring over his photos—and that was just the stuff saved on his computer! I didn't even get to the volumes of photos he has stored as slides (back before digital photography took over). He literally has thousands of nature/wildlife photographic images. . . I almost felt like I was reading his diaries as I poured over all these snapshots. Photography has always been such an intensely personal past time for Bob; he could sit for hours in the woods, waiting for time, lighting, events to all converge at the most perfect moment to capture the scenes he sees . . . Each one is an imprint of a piece of Bob's life, how he sees the natural world, how he has lived so many hours of his life, in quiet stillness in the woods, or at a lakeshore, or standing in the expanse of a prairie, capturing and freezing miracles through the lens of a camera . . .

I like to think I'm Bob's biggest photography fan, but it appears I have a few rivals in that arena, given how his prints and cards went on the auction. Bob was shocked, I not so much. . . because his photography has been such a personal endeavor, he hasn't shared much of his work. He has had several pictures published in various DNR publications, but that's really the extent of his public exposure. Like many true artists who absolutely love their craft, he has often said that he wouldn't want it to become "a job" or make money off it, because then the passion, the fun would be lost. I have often said, "but why keep all these beautiful scenes to yourself?!?"

For several weeks now, I have been discussing with Bob the possibility of opening an on-line gallery that would feature his work for sale, on cards, prints, etc. My "grand scheme" is that at least a portion of the proceeds go toward cancer awareness, specifically Hodgkin's survivors awareness. We've lived and learned a horrific, little-known reality about Hodgkin's over the past 15 months, a reality that is not being shared openly with survivors of the disease, that even though it's "highly treatable" with a "very high cure rate," the treatments often come back to haunt a patient in ways only fit for nightmares. . . but that's another blog topic for another time. I'm tired and don't have the energy to get into that one now, but I'll keep you all posted on how the idea of the online (and maybe even brick-n-mortar storefront) gallery of Bob's photography is developing . . .

Yesterday was an astounding day for us. . . even though I know in my heart that we've been supported and immersed in love from so many people for so long, yesterday was the first time we've truly been able to get out into the word and feel this love, up close and personal, in person, for the very first time. . . I know it energized Bob immeasurably, to see so many people at an event in his honor; I thought he would be exhausted (we even had a cot along, in case he needed to take a little nap at some point), but as the day went on, it seemed as though the interactions with everyone just energized him, filled him up, kept him going . . .I was energized, filled up, bursting, all day. . .we felt it peeps. truly truly felt it. . . you all are amazing.

With endless love, Jen

p.s. I was going to add some photos, but I have hit that proverbial brick wall and can barely type another sentence. Tomorrow, promise . . . xxoo!