Saying Goodbye...

Last week during school, I got a text message from my very best friend. Kelsey's been my best friend since 4th grade, so we've been through A LOT of good and bad times together... fortunately for us, they've been mostly GOOD times. This past week was one of those weeks that goes more into the "bad times' category.

She'd been helping take care of her father for the past year or so, and even more so for the past few months. When I received her text last Tuesday of her dad's passing, I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what to do, what to say, how to feel, how to support her, whether or not I should leave work right then... I didn't know this feeling at all, and needless to say, I didn't like it.

We had a band contest that day, so I left as soon as I could that evening & drove to Canton to visit with her and some of our closest friends. She was overwhelmingly strong, and again, I didn't know how to take it. Was I supposed to make her laugh, or help her cry out her feelings? She had a lot of anger towards her dad and the life they lived together... but I could tell she was finally starting to get over the anger, especially as we got closer to the day of the funeral.

We said goodbye to her dad on Saturday, and at the amount of guests, it was obvious that he had touched many people's lives. He was a coach for many years, so many co-workers, students, and friends came to say goodbye. I hadn't seen him in a while--I chose not to see him when he was so sick, even though I was always there to support his daugher. I wish I would've said goodbye to him while he was still alive. We had a lot of fun and happy memories from when we were younger. I pray that Kelsey, her mom, and her brother will all be able to forgive him for his mistakes, to remember the good times they all had together, and move on to a happier way of life.

Here's a picture of myself, Kelsey, and "Stan the Man" when we were in elementary school.