My most memorable times with Mindy revolve around family.  We did not meet until we were adults.  In fact,Jackson was just a baby at the time.  We hit it off and became fast friends.  She threw an awesome baby shower for Derek and I at the house on Blue Ridge.  I remember many happy times at that house.  Derek and I would load the kids up and head over for a visit.  Often times, we wouldn’t even do anything special, just hang out while the kids played.  I remember many birthday celebrations and other gatherings.  We were always welcome.  And, it was always kid/family friendly.

I am also remembering so many other happy times with Mindy:  watching the Blue Angels,Cedar Hedge Lake,Higgins Lake, and being together at many weddings and other parties.  It was always fun, and you could count on a lot of laughter when Mindy was around.

I will also never forget Mindy’s generosity to me when I was sick.  She was a true friend.  She helped out with errands and with watching the kids.  And, most importantly, she was a friend to talk to when I was scared or upset.  She selflessly listened and offered support.  She had such a big heart and warm smile.

I consider myself blessed to have known and loved Mindy.  I will keep these memories close and never forget her.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the role that soccer played in bringing your parents together.  I am lucky enough to know and to have played with both of them, so I’d like to share that memory with you.

It was a different time then.  Traverse City was a bit smaller with just one public high school, which in itself may seem inconsequential until you understand how it unified people.  High school athletics were extremely well-supported here.  We had one of the strongest athletic programs in the state, and it created a certain pride that I never saw at other high schools.  We were remote—separated from downstate schools of the same size by miles, so often we competed against smaller schools.  With class sizes that were swelling, Traverse City was considered a dominant force in many sports. 

Except perhaps one:  girls soccer.

We had a strong high school boys program—one that your Uncle Rob or your dad can speak to—but at the time, there wasn’t a girl’s program at all.  And here there were girls playing soccer all over town, coming up through the YMCA or the newly-founded TBAYS soccer leagues, who had nowhere to play as they reached high school.  Your mom, me, and a few others had a passion for the sport, and we wanted to play for our high school.  So we gathered people together to get talking about adding soccer as a varsity sport for girls.  And this was no easy task. 

It was here that your mom was a pioneer.  She was more than one of the first female players in the region, she was a bit of a legacy in a time when girls soccer was at its infancy.  She was one of the reasons for its start.  We played alongside one another for years, both in a recreational league and then finally, on the high school team.  Fast and scrappy, she played midfield the way that only those agile and fit athletes could.  She had a talent for skirting opponents with a lean of her body, then cutting back, and quickly ripping shots.  She had skills and talent when only a few did. 

It’s no small feat to move schools to do something new, so it took us nearly a year.  And through it all we played—holding unofficial practices at the soggy soccer fields off Silver Lake Road and fielding a summer team that would play in downstate tournaments—often loosing by huge margins, but fighting the entire time and sometimes netting a few goals of our own.  Your mom was often behind these.

And you should know that both sets of your grandparents were  a part of this too, helping lobby the Traverse City Public School System to make girls soccer an official varsity sport, and then when it did become one, supporting our crazy fundraisers to earn enough cash for uniforms and gas for the bus.  Your Grandpa Jim was a force on the sideline, and I think I can still hear his booming voice.  And your Grandmother Sandy was a regular Team Mom.  Bill and Margo pitched in too, as Abby would come up a few years later.  I’m not sure why we were so well-supported, but we were.

In the early years, we weren’t much good, but that didn’t matter: we loved this game.  It was hard to find teams to play, as the closest high school with a girl’s program was Big Rapids over an hour-and-a-half drive.  So our team bonded in a way that few others did.  We took long bus trips to play schools in Grand Rapids, Midland and Muskegon—all on school nights, so you can imagine how late we returned.

We didn’t win a lot of games, but we had the time of our lives.  No matter the final score, we’d crank the tunes on the bus and unite in singing along with Steve Miller or Queen.  We’d belt out “We Are the Champions” at the top of our lungs, understanding somewhere deep in our hearts that it really didn’t matter if we won or lost. 

And there in the middle of it was your mom, with the brightest eyes, the biggest smile, and the most sincere laugh.  She was beautiful and it was obvious why she became one of our captains.

Your mom was three years younger than me, so she enjoyed a few more bus trips.  And she saw the next generation of players come up behind us.  She stayed in Traverse City, so I know that she knew the mark that we left behind.  She was at the center of soccer in this town at a very special time.  And there are many of us who will always remember your mom this way and for the rest of our lives.