Goodbye, Friend.

Between the holidays, getting ready for baby Ashlyn’s arrival and helping to plan my baby shower, time has once again gotten away from me. I barely have time to breath, let alone find time to write.

However, with that being said, something happened recently that has been plaguing my mind. I know of no better way to sort it all out than to get it out of my head and onto the paper in front of me, so here I am…

A high school friend of mine recently passed away; someone who, fifteen years ago was part of my closest circle of friends. Time and life has taken our group in various directions and unfortunately I hadn’t talked to this friend much after graduation.

His birthday was four short days after mine. Strange, huh?

Finding out about his passing was, for lack of a better word, shocking. He was young. Too young, in my opinion, to be taken from our green Earth. Instantly it reminded me of a sort of convoluted conversation I had with my mom while standing in her kitchen back in high school. For some reason she sat me down to tell me that friends would die and I would have to learn to cope with it on my own. I was confused at the time, so shrugged my shoulders and let it go in one ear and out the other. Looking back on that she must have been dealing with her own sadness. My mother was wise and tried her best to prepare me for life’s curveballs even at a young age. Even though I didn’t always understand the purpose of her lessons, they always had meaning.

Today, I think about my friend’s passing and how he was both a father and a son. My heart weeps most for his parents and child, because I know that they are the ones hurting most. I pray that God will give them the strength to make it through this.

I could sit here and say that I wish I would have reached out to say hello, because obviously that is in the back of my mind, but of course cursing the things we didn’t do never get us anywhere. Instead, I will vow to do my part to make sure his death was not in vain. I will remember, going forward, to say something if it needs to be said and to hold onto friendships that are important. I will hug my daughter tighter, kiss my husband harder, smile more easily and not hold onto grudges, because life is just too damn short. I will, as my mother said, learn to cope with it.

Rest in peace, Keven. May your family and close friends find happiness and love in the memories you have left behind.