I didn't know any of them personally, I had seen Caitlin briefly once about two years ago at Rocky Roccocos in Fond Du Lac with her Dad. Jeff and I know her Dad as he sells us supplies for the farm and ran into them there when out Xmas shopping one time.
Strange thing is, her Dad had just been at our farm on Friday and spoke to Jeff and I for about an hour while we were doing afternoon chores and we were talking about our children and sports and everything. It seemed so ironic to me that within 48 hours of shaking his hand and having a conversation about where exactly he lived and everything that I would read about this horrible accident. My heart immediately ached for him and his family as he truly is a genuinely nice person.
After the intial news online and Facebook I had read posts made by people questioning the time of the accident and pointing fingers at these parents and what not asking why they would let their kids out at that time of the night. It made me sad that people are so quick to "judge" a situation and circumstances and people in general.
I mean, come on! We were all young once, just like these girls, and made some bad decisions and so on, and I can tell you for a fact, whether or not my parents knew it, there were times in high school when I said I was somewhere I wasn't, there were times I was out way later than I was supposed to be doing something foolish but fun! Heck, I see a lot of adults making real dumb decisions everytime they leave the bars or bowling alleys on the weekend and choose to drive home but fortunately for most of us the outcome isn't so sad.
All I can think of is the pain these poor families must feel and for the surviving passengers of the vehicle how difficult moving ahead in life could be for all of them. The poor girl driving is going to live with the guilt of this for a very long time and I can only hope and pray that God gives her strength to get past everything and looks towards her future.
This is truly another story in life that doesn't seem to make much sense but reminds us that there is a Higher Power in charge of it all. As hard as it can be at times we need to try to understand and keep our faith and in this case don't assume or judge these precious girl's actions or the parents involved. Any one of us could fall into a similar situation in our future and I can only hope that people decide to show support for my loss rather than question why I didn't have my child strapped to her bed all night and not out having a good time with her friends and exploring life.
I stopped and thought about it. There have been many times where my 13 year old daughter had spent the night by a friend's house and I just assume and hope that they make good choices and don't do anything stupid. But at the same time I do know that kids will be kids and they could easily sneak out of the house and test the waters of life. I've personally done that, so I know. And if they decide to venture out, well, you pray that God keeps them safe in whatever way he sees fit.
Pray for these families, pray for their friends, pray for that community as it has to be one hell of a blow to their system. Beautiful, intelligent girls with so much passion for life........so, so sad.
Oh, and yes, use this opportunity to speak to your own children about the dangers of speeding and not wearing seatbelts and last but not least hug them, love them and tell them all the time. One just never knows when will be the last time.
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