No next summer
How do you tell your child, not yet 6 years old, that her friend is gone? How do you tell her that the summer play dates which we could never make time for last summer will now never happen? That the friend she looks forward to seeing every Sunday in church will no longer be there? That the tea party they have been planned for months is just that…a plan?
I can’t remember any other time since I lost my mom that the news of a death has hit me as badly as it did. A 6 year old girl, healthy, cheerful, full of life. I’m not particularly close to her parents but admire them from a distance. But our kids look forward to playing together on Sundays. “When it’s summer, when school’s out”, we told the kids when they wanted to visit each other’s homes. Summer came but we were too busy. Every Sunday, we would mutter a “One of these Saturdays.” The kids, meanwhile made their plans. My daughter had a bag packed, ready to go. It contained doll hairbrushes, some hair accessories, teaspoons and other tea party supplies. Then summer was over. “Next summer we’ll do something”, we consoled the kids. But now, there is no next summer.
A healthy six year old girl. Bade goodnite to her parents and gone by morning. Scary…because it reminds you that nobody is immune. Life is fleeting. Don’t wait till next summer.
My heart is heavy. This hurts so much. But worst of all, I cannot imagine what the parents are going through at this moment. I pray God gives them the strength to get through it.
