Dear Friends and Family,

Happy news to report! In August, usually a sad month for our family as we acknowledge the passing of our sweet Quincy, a big bundle of happiness entered our lives. We got a black Labrador puppy! With Brody starting high school and Keenan in the 7th grade, the time for a dog was either now or never. Brody had been working us over for several years to get a dog and once his friend e-mailed pictures of his new yellow lab puppy, along with the rest of the litter; we knew it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. We noticed a black lab in the photo that looked adorable. Roger grew up in Minnesota with a black lab and knew one would be a perfect fit with the boys. I quietly e-mailed the breeder to see if the puppy was available and the rest is history!

We picked up our “Jersey” girl on a farm in Vacaville, and after completing her shots, we started puppy school. It was clear from the first day that she was a stellar student. She will do anything for a small morsel of food! We joked that she belonged in the “AP” class – advanced puppy. Of course, labs are known for their incredible motivation for food, but at home, without the trainer or an endless supply of puppy treats, all chaos seems to break loose! We are hoping with routine and time, her excitable puppy manners will improve.

Now 7 months old and still crazy, she has been a great addition to our family. Who knew a puppy could cure teenage angst. With Jersey around it is impossible to be in a bad mood. Her overwhelming enthusiasm for life is contagious. She has turned our teenage boys into kinder and more considerate teenage boys. It probably has to do with the fact that they act like her litter mates, but nevertheless she has brought true joy into our lives. For some reason I even call her Quincy without realizing it. The boys usually point this out to me as they roll their eyes and correct me. I guess it is all that unconditional love she gives, just like Quincy.

OK, enough about dogs….Brody started high school this year and is doing well. He is on the freshman basketball team and really enjoys it. We finally got him moved into Quincy’s room after extensive remodeling. With the boys help, we scraped, sanded, washed, primed and painted the room. It took about 6 months to finish, but well worth the effort as he really likes having his own space. Now he is back to lobbying us on having the dog sleep in his room instead of her crate in the dining room. Keenan too, is enjoying his new found space in his previously shared bedroom. He is currently playing on a CYO basketball team coached by Roger. We all still play as much tennis as we can, but I find I need to balance it out with yoga or I have too many aches and pains and advils!

On the foundation front, the Quincy Lee Foundation had been blessed with two extremely generous friends, Abbey Ryan and Estelle Strykers. Abbey, our very talented artist friend who painted our family portrait during our last summer with Quincy, has been painting a picture a day for the past year. She then offers them for sale on ebay. On August 4th, the anniversary of Quincy’s death, she donated the proceeds from the sale of the painting to the Quincy Lee Foundation. Please check out her work at www.abbeyryan.com. She also kindly plans to offer one of her paintings every August 4th in memory of sweet Quincy. Our other friend, Estelle Strykers, the sister of a good friend of mine, lives in New York City and runs marathons when she can squeeze in training in her busy life. She was touched by Quincy’s story and decided to dedicate her next marathon to raising money for the Quincy Lee Foundation. On November 23, Stella completed the Philadelphia Marathon with the goal of raising $100 for every mile. She surpassed her goal and had her best time. See her photo on “The Foundation” website page. Way to go Stella!!!!

My next project for the Foundation is a brochure on the Quincy Lee Foundation that explains our newly focused mission statement and the goal we hope to reach. It was after numerous conversations with the doctors and staff at UCSF that we realized the most efficient use of our resources would be to fund a fellowship at UCSF, as this is the best possible way to achieve Quincy’s wish that “all kids with cancer could be all better”. Our strategy is to target large corporations that have community/ charity boards that we can contact for possible funding. I realize with the economy that this may be difficult, to say the least, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

During the holiday season, we like to take time to pause and reflect on how time has passed. We are truly thankful for all that we have. We look at Quincy’s short life and are grateful for the 6 years we had with her each and every day. I like to think we got even more time with her because of all the nights she shared our bed. Because of her, we so appreciate and love our family and truly cherish our good health, good friends, and good dogs!

We wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season.

Love,

Lisa and Roger

Dear Friends and Family,

We always plan on updating our journal more frequently, but now another full year has passed. For obvious reasons, updating this journal is very difficult. I think each year we keep hoping to reach a new stage in our lives without Quincy or find something very joyous to write about, but that never seems to happen…so we wait. Yet we do have moments of joy in our lives to balance those moments of heart-pounding grief that still invade our hearts, less frequently now, but still there. When those thoughts of missing her come, they come almost with a greater sadness because it has been so long since she has been with us (approaching four years) and still so long until we can be with her again.

Anyway, it only makes sense to open this journal entry with sports. In the Lee family, they have been our saving grace, providing each one of us with fun and normalcy that helped us through Quincy’s illness and death, and continue to provide us with comfortable routines that move us forward. During the summer, we attended the All-Star Baseball game played in San Francisco at AT&T Park where the SF Giants play in regular season. We spent three days in the city and had a great time going to the homerun derby and all-star game. The boys will have great memories from that week from watching all the famous and infamous players of baseball.

Currently, it is basketball season and Roger is coaching both Brody’s 8th grade team and Keenan’s 6th grade team. Roger loves coaching and enjoys watching all the boys on his teams improve throughout the season. His office is still close to home in Walnut Creek which allows him to be very involved with the boys. As a family we all enjoy basketball and root for the Golden State Warriors watching as many games as we can. In the spring, Brody will play tennis and umpire local Little League baseball games like he did last year and Keenan will play his last year of baseball in the Little League Majors.

After the boys started school in August, I finally found some courage, or rather felt it was the right time to start going through some of Quincy’s things. All of her clothing seems so small now when I compare it to the size of her girlfriends who are all approaching age 10. It’s strange but I think of Quincy as the same size and age of her friends. We can’t believe that she will be 10 in March. Looking at each dress and outfit brought a smile to my face, remembering how she would wear each piece and the last time she wore it. She would love to change into a “party” dress if we were going out or over to a friend’s house for dinner. I found I couldn’t just bag her things and put them on the curb for goodwill; I had to find a person or place that would benefit from her things. She had so much stuff, like any child that spends a lot of time in the hospital will have from receiving so many gifts from kind-hearted people trying to make her feel better. Many of her toddler things I brought to a crisis nursery center; her puzzles, games and bikes (the boys too) I gave to schools in Richmond. It felt very good knowing her treasured possessions were needed and would be used. Her clothing was harder to part with and I saved her favorite outfits and items that triggered a happy memory for me. The rest I gave to friends that have little girls. Going through her stuff is still a very slow and draining process, but it does feel good to move forward and I know Quincy would be happy that her things are being enjoyed by other little girls.

This past fall, I’ve spent my time working on the Quincy Lee Foundation. In September, we made up some “bingo bags” filled with toys and brought them in for the children in treatment at UCSF. I also worked with one of Quincy’s wonderful nurses and did some shopping for the pediatric intensive care rooms, in order to make them more comfortable for the patients. In October we filled plastic pumpkins with goodies for the kids and made treats for the staff. All was greatly appreciated by the good people at UCSF. It finally feels comfortable to go back there and the best part is that I am known as “Quincy’s Mom.” I love that title! After Thanksgiving, we had a Holiday fundraising party at the home of a good friend. We had various vendors selling their wares along with our own QLF “nanny-knit” scarves, bookmarks, photo ornaments and cards, and candy. The evening was a big success. I’m not sure what the next fundraiser will be but we are working on several ideas and will keep you posted.

This year also brought us full circle in life. Roger’s father passed away at the end of November. About a year ago he had been diagnosed with lung cancer due to the many years he worked as a plumber with asbestos. He was blessed with 87 wonderful years with the exception of his last six months. He was a very kind and warm-hearted man who was deeply loved by all who knew him. We will really miss him.

“The things that matter most in our lives are not the fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another, when we are there in the most attentive or caring way.”
-Jack Kornfield

Love,

Lisa and Roger