Heartbreaking Message

I just returned from a wake for a girl who died much too young.  She was the daughter of a friend of mine from Middle School. I haven’t seen her in probably 25 years but we have reconnected via Facebook.  

There are a lot of people who are giving up Facebook but for me, I’m glad there’s a place where I can go and find little pieces of old and new friends’ lives.  It helps me stay connected to relatives both near and far.  These may not all be people that I still see but I still like feeling connected with people who were a part of my life at one time or another.  I like the minutia of it and keeping up with what’s going on in their lives.

It was because of Facebook that I reconnected with this particular friend, Lori.  During Middle School, we were together nearly everyday.  For three years, we ate lunch at the same table with the same group of kids.  We spent time at each others homes. She was a big part of my life during those early teen years!

We didn’t really stay in touch after high school, but over the last few years, through Facebook, we reconnected. We posted on each others photos and communicated that way.  We both had children who would be Seniors in high school this year so we were going through some of the “big events” at the same time.  I don’t know all of the details of her daughter’s death, but I do know it was an accident.  Her latest post was this, “kids stop doing pills and shit. accidents happen. don’t u know how much ur parents love u?” 

When I saw her today, after offering my condolences, she told me to remind my kids to be smart and to make good choices.  As I sat there and watched a procession of teenagers walking into the funeral home breaking down in tears, I hoped that she passed that message on to all of them.  It is heartbreaking that it has to take something like this to get a message across.

I pray for her family that they can find some peace during this time.

 

Tagged: death of teen, Facebook, painful goodbye, unexplained death, Why I like facebook