As those of you who know me may or may not know my mother had been dealing with cancer for the last 4 months. I got the call from my sister tonight that she went peacefully in her bed at home with my sister at her side.

My mother was a huge inspiration for me in everything I do in my life, but especially when it comes to officiating. My stepfather who also passed away from cancer 8 years ago refereed football for 35 years here in Kansas. She encouraged me to become an official and always supported me towards achieving my goals as an official. I told her at the beginning of this season that my goal for this year was to officiate at the high school state tournament. She told me that she would promise to hold on long enough to see me referee at State and that's exactly what she did. She was able to come and watch for about an hour and a half on Friday, and she told me along with my birth and the birth of my daughter that she had never been more proud of me.

Her being able to come watch me at Salina will be something that I will never forget. For all of you who have offered kind words to me I appreciate it a lot. I will be at Rock Creek this weekend back doing what I love more than anything and knowing that she'll be watching me from above now.