On Sunday, I took the girls to a friend's birthday party at the movie theater. I stood against the wall in the party room, chatting with the other moms. I turned to pick something up or put something down and someone caught my eye.
A tall, thin teenager with long hair walked by. I walked to the door and took a step into the corridor. I wanted to call out to her .... like you see on those dramatic TV series .... when the character thinks they saw the person that is gone. For a fleeting second, I thought she was still physically here. Then I realized it wasn't her, for another second I stopped breathing and it felt like there was a rock on my chest. My friend looked at me and asked if I was OK. I explained, through tears. She put her arm around me and then back to the party we went.
No one saw the turn of events of the summer coming and my life was profoundly impacted by her passing. I think of her often - her beauty, her kindness, her fun-loving spirit, her Grace.
We're different for knowing her and forever changed by the loss of her physical presence.
We'll never be the same, nor would we want to be.
