Saturday, July 16, 2011

heavy hearted.


last night as i was heading to bed, i checked facebook and was shocked to learn about the death of a high school classmate. she was shot and killed during her lunch break at work. she and i were never close friends, but we were in school together since elementary school, so I obviously knew who she was.

my heart has been heavy and my mind has been reeling since hearing the news. i am praying almost constantly for her husband and her family. she was so young and it was so unexpected.

i don't want to live my life in fear of dying, but i guess this is a reminder to live life fully. to not put things off. to cherish each moment.

several months ago, while we were in atlanta for my brother's graduation, chris and i witnessed a father and his daugher be struck by a car as they were crossing the street. it was one of the scariest things i've ever seen and it will probably never leave me. still, when i'm on a walk with meredith, and i hear a loud sound, i jump, scared. the man and girl lived (they both had concussions and some broken bones) but the experience taught me how fragile life is.

this man and his daughter were simply going for doughnuts on a saturday morning. brittney was simply going to work and probably anticipating the weekend. we are never promised tomorrow. all i can think about is hugging and kissing and saying i love you. smiling and enjoying and putting worries aside.

i hope you are having love-filled weekend. go give someone a hug.

8 comments:

kaysie said...

This is so true. I work at the Daily News for our... "region" and I'm constantly reading the police reports from all the counties. The things that happen on a daily basis are astounding...
But it IS a good reminder

Em Levy {orange + barrel} said...

It's so sad. I can't stop thinking about it.

basebell6 said...

so sorry about your classmate. :( praying for her whole family.

Mary Nevin said...

this story is SO nuts!! i forgot you had such close ties to atlanta, thankfully they arrested the guy today but how awful for the girl and her family!! this has definitely made me all the more grateful for what i have.

colleen said...

i am so sorry to hear that claire. my friend from high school died in a freak accident last year and it can really shake you and make certain thoughts we always ave much more relevant. i'm so sorry for her family and husband - i hope your weekend can look up a little from here.

Samantha said...

So sorry about your friend. Life is so precious...

clare @ the pretty walrus said...

I'm so sorry to hear this, Claire. It's an awful experience, even if you weren't close to her. However, you've managed to put together a beautiful and very thought-inducing post as a result of it, and for that I just wanted to say thank you x

Kristin W said...

Gosh...old post but I've had it saved in my reader to respond for a while. You're right though; partially all we can do when encountering a scare/tragedy is to utilize it as a reminder to cherish every moment and express how much we care to others.

Thank you for the beautiful post.

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