In loving memory of Erin 1998-2009
(The prompt was about best friends)
In my family, we used to say we had no "best friends," and for a lot of my brothers and sisters that is true. They have friends, none of them really stand out. The "no best friends" rule was to avoid the "you're my best friend" drama that just about all girls go through in grammar/middle/high school, so I was very glad for it.
I, however, have a best friend.
We've been "together" for more than 15 years, and she has always been there for me. She is a constant in my life. She is someone who was able to let me deal with my stresses and vent to her without prescribing exactly what I should do all the time. Although her inability to choose sometimes annoys and worries me (she's been in college for 4 years without choosing a major and still has no idea what she wants to do), her flexibility makes it easy for me to take charge if there's something I feel strongly about. Of course...if I'm indecisive about something nothing gets decided...but we laugh about that. She says weird things and makes up her own words, which is a perfect match for my rambling and getting distracted in the middle of sentences. We always have fun together. I can only remember a couple of times when we've had fights, and we've always come through them. We're both creative individuals, and love to be spontaneous!
I have a lot of friends I value a lot (Emily, Cryssy, you know I love ya), but she's totally earned the best friend label. I am SO grateful for the blessing of having her in my life. She's like a sister. Literally.
She's not on LJ, so she'll probably never read this...but she's amazing.
Oh, yes, and drama today: Little 3-year-old cousin tripped and whacked his cheekbone hard on the corner of our coffee table (ironically, when his dad bought it for us we TOLD him it was too sharp) and now has an absolutely awesome bruise. I'll have to take pictures. XD
Drama yesterday: I found our that this little girl Erin...let me back up. There was this girl who my little sister knew one way or another. Her name was Erin. She had the most beautiful blonde hair and a winning attitude. She also had a brain tumor which was slowly robbing her of the feeling in her body. She was confined to a wheelchair. The first week or so of school, I went in to take notes on a teacher's opening procedure...and there was Erin! I was assigned to help her, and I won't deny I was nervous. I get very scared dealing with students with disabilities...I'm always worried I'll do something wrong and end up hurting them. But this girl was amazing. The showed me her new brown-and-pink shoes and said they'd never get dirty. She laughed with me and was really patient when I went to the nurse's with her and got to learn how to help her go to the bathroom (what an experience...she couldn't balance herself on the toilet and yet acted completely unembarrassed at having someone help her). I really grew to love her.
She died last Sunday.
I didn't even know. My little sister told me. I know that she is in heaven, and that she is able to run and play again...but I'm really sad for her family. Apparently the mom and dad couldn't handle it so they're divorcing. This makes me mad, because they have three other kids. Now, I can't pretend to know how losing a child feels. It has got to be terrible. BUT you can't do that to your kids! They just lost their sister, now their going to lose a parent, too?! At least wait until their emotional dust settles before you do that! They really need the support of both a mom and a dad right now, and you just go and get a divorce. Fantastic. Please pray for the family, especially for the children and for their comfort.
In my family, we used to say we had no "best friends," and for a lot of my brothers and sisters that is true. They have friends, none of them really stand out. The "no best friends" rule was to avoid the "you're my best friend" drama that just about all girls go through in grammar/middle/high school, so I was very glad for it.
I, however, have a best friend.
We've been "together" for more than 15 years, and she has always been there for me. She is a constant in my life. She is someone who was able to let me deal with my stresses and vent to her without prescribing exactly what I should do all the time. Although her inability to choose sometimes annoys and worries me (she's been in college for 4 years without choosing a major and still has no idea what she wants to do), her flexibility makes it easy for me to take charge if there's something I feel strongly about. Of course...if I'm indecisive about something nothing gets decided...but we laugh about that. She says weird things and makes up her own words, which is a perfect match for my rambling and getting distracted in the middle of sentences. We always have fun together. I can only remember a couple of times when we've had fights, and we've always come through them. We're both creative individuals, and love to be spontaneous!
I have a lot of friends I value a lot (Emily, Cryssy, you know I love ya), but she's totally earned the best friend label. I am SO grateful for the blessing of having her in my life. She's like a sister. Literally.
She's not on LJ, so she'll probably never read this...but she's amazing.
Oh, yes, and drama today: Little 3-year-old cousin tripped and whacked his cheekbone hard on the corner of our coffee table (ironically, when his dad bought it for us we TOLD him it was too sharp) and now has an absolutely awesome bruise. I'll have to take pictures. XD
Drama yesterday: I found our that this little girl Erin...let me back up. There was this girl who my little sister knew one way or another. Her name was Erin. She had the most beautiful blonde hair and a winning attitude. She also had a brain tumor which was slowly robbing her of the feeling in her body. She was confined to a wheelchair. The first week or so of school, I went in to take notes on a teacher's opening procedure...and there was Erin! I was assigned to help her, and I won't deny I was nervous. I get very scared dealing with students with disabilities...I'm always worried I'll do something wrong and end up hurting them. But this girl was amazing. The showed me her new brown-and-pink shoes and said they'd never get dirty. She laughed with me and was really patient when I went to the nurse's with her and got to learn how to help her go to the bathroom (what an experience...she couldn't balance herself on the toilet and yet acted completely unembarrassed at having someone help her). I really grew to love her.
She died last Sunday.
I didn't even know. My little sister told me. I know that she is in heaven, and that she is able to run and play again...but I'm really sad for her family. Apparently the mom and dad couldn't handle it so they're divorcing. This makes me mad, because they have three other kids. Now, I can't pretend to know how losing a child feels. It has got to be terrible. BUT you can't do that to your kids! They just lost their sister, now their going to lose a parent, too?! At least wait until their emotional dust settles before you do that! They really need the support of both a mom and a dad right now, and you just go and get a divorce. Fantastic. Please pray for the family, especially for the children and for their comfort.