the day after...

 

My weekend started out great, spent with this little one...Jacob.  My stepson and his family all have been passing sickness back and forth.  Jacob needed some grandma/grandpa time so he came over Friday until Sunday.   I took him to his first trip to the library and we looked at monster trucks on the computer.  We even went to my buddy's home school web site & looked at the pictures from her family's trips to the museum.  Jacob loved the dinosaur pictures.

Until the sadness of yesterday.  Followed by a difficult day today.  I have no high school routes so I was spared the grief of the students there.  Only one junior high girl talked about the crash & she also knew K and was deeply saddened.  Most of them were annoyed by all the lectures they received by the junior high staff about drinking and driving, or the teachers crying because some of the students were former students.

I shared my pain with my supervisor we both knew K and gave each other a huge hug and shared little stories about her from when she was little throughout the day. 

The facts of the event are beginning to emerge.  It seems the children did not know the driver, she was someone who happened along these kids walking home from either a party or a bowling alley.  Their ride had not come to get them, and some of them had told their parents that they would be at other kids houses.  You know how kids do that, they tell their parents they are with someone and they go out and screw around.  My kids tried that, but their friends were dumb and I had caller ID so they always screwed up and called looking for my kids.  And when I ask, "I thought they were with you", they would always freak. 

So the kids all piled into a 4 door sedan, 8 kids mind you, the smaller ones sitting on the laps of the bigger ones. Some how hit the driver skidded & hit a pole. Killing 4 children.  1 girl is fine, my daughter's friend's brother will be ok, although a few have rumored him dead, one boy will be ok, but probably will never walk, and the 4th child I have heard will probably not make it.  The driver?  She is a 23 year old mother of 2 who drove drunk and did an incredibly stupid act.  One that has changed a community forever.

My town is a small one, we are growing, but our core is small town USA.  This has hurt us, will it change anything?  I doubt it, people will still not take responsibility for their kids, they will still let them do what they want and it kills me.  I always, always beat into my kids heads to not be stupid.  I educated them, I always knew where they were at, I have a huge, noisy personality so I always knew what was going on, or at least I made them believe that I would find out what they were doing. 

My daughter is also upset.  She said today was horrible.  Kids leaving school and hanging out at the crash site.  I find this very dangerous, it's on a highway, but I suppose it's necessary.  They leave their trinkets and cry with each other.  Such sadness, such a waste of live. 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  I appreciate this place to let my feelings out.  It's hard to hold it together.  Here I can let it out.  Thank you.