Stopped.

I was stopped in my tracks.

 

There I was, on a date with my husband, running some errands.

I was checking out at Hobby Lobby, when my phone dinged.

 

A text from Ann.

I thought, oh, maybe something wedding wise.

Then I saw it.

"Alaina Kensinger was killed early this morning in a car wreck."

 

I responded:

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god."

 

The Hobby Lobby employee probably thought I was insane.

Tears were pouring down my face.

I looked at Brandon, and then said it out loud.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. A friend from high school died."

Then I cried more.

 

I thought of her.

Her sweet smile.

Her bubbly personality.

The way she could make friends with anyone.

Then I thought, "Oh my god. Her son."

 

Tears were unending at that point.

 

I thought back to high school.

To little memories we had together.

Like the time I gave wayyyyy to many people a ride home.

She somehow ended up in the trunk.

THE TRUNK! What were we thinking?

We were thinking that it was hilarious.

We were thinking, "oh why not go over every speed bump we find? oh why not stop hard at every stop sign? oh why not speed and then stop quickly?"

 

Teenagers. Sigh!

 

I'm not going to pretend like we were close friends.

We moved in similar cliques in high school, but weren't together all the time, by any means.

The fact is, I moved far a way from home.

The fact is, I didn't reconnect with her when I was in town.

The fact is, we didn't really know one another any more.

 

But, through the powers of social networking, we had sort of reconnected.

Liking posts. Leaving comments. Saying hi.

 

It was amazing to look at all the outpouring of love on her face book page.

So many were touched by her in their lives, if only for a second.

And we all seem to remember her smile.

 

 

I changed again in the second of finding out details surrounding her tragic death.

 

I drove slower.

I hugged my kids extra close.

I questioned so many things.

 

Life happens.

And the only certainty in life is death.

We don't know when it will happen.

We don't know how it will happen.

So we live each day as if it's our last.

Or we try to when we remember to do so.

 

I don't know what my legacy will be when I'm gone.

I'm going to keep on living, because this weekend reminded me that life is indeed too short. 

 

Melissa