A note to Jordan:

Jordan: I am so impressed with how you handled the "rollercoaster" ride with your ongoing health issues while competing in XC running. You set realistic and honorable goals & showed great determination in meeting them. You will be a stronger athlete & person for having endured this small "fire". Here's to solutions & a great T&F season in '09!

Not always the most organized when it comes to desk clutter, I found this unsent note on my desk recently and cried buckets once again after reading it. Regret, for not having sent the note, heart ache for the incalculable loss of an incredible young woman and new found resolve to make moments in life count for so much more.

Jordan, your exit from our lives has left an impact larger than a crator could have! I walk around the halls of GHSS and see it daily. Incredibly, I see the amazing transformation in those lives you touched the most. Your friends are hurting and yet, taking from you, the inspiration to go on, to do amazing things, to live YOUR example!

Years ago, before becoming a teacher at GHSS, I was asked to be the guest speaker at the GHSS athletic banquet. The focus of my speech was MOMENTS. Every day we experience many moments, some more memorable than others, some we work hard to forget, some that impact us for life. As athletes we put in hours of sweat and practice to prepare for what we hope to be glorious moments of victory or success in execution on the right day. It is the moments of difficult practice that often mold us into the people or athletes we have set our sights on in the first place. Savouring the many moments of our lives in this age of instant everything sometimes gets lost. Jordan made us want to stop and savour those moments, special or not. She made us want to LIVE, to really LOVE and to LAUGH till it hurt, and keep on laughing!

As her coach, I stood by feeling helpless sometimes as I witnessed several of Jordan's moments of frustration with injuries, health issues and simply not living up to her own high expectations. Incredibly, when I thought she would fold her cards and walk away, she got up and continued to work towards her goal, beat the shin splints, find a way to finish the race despite whatever complication came her way. It is because of the incredible gift of THOSE MOMENTS that I take inspiration to work towards new goals, be there and live in the moments of every day! The phrase "Celebrate Moments" has much deeper meaning because of you Jo! You will live on in SO MANY MOMENTS!