A Tribute

My journey through the fire began on the morning of September 9th, 2008. On my parents 35th anniversary cruise to Alaska, my mom suffered a brain stem stroke aboard the ship while at sea. I woke up that morning to consecutive phone calls from my friend Amye. In my sleepy haze, I didn't think anything about it and ignored her calls, more annoyed than concerned. After this, my room mate Abby came in to see if I was awake and said Amye had called her as well and was on her way over. At this point, I developed a pit in my stomach. I honestly didn't know who it pertained to, but I knew bad news was coming. Sweet Amye had to be the one to tell me that something had happened to my mom, and according to my dad, it didn't sound like she was going to come back from it. I still can't fathom what she was going through, knowing this information and having to be the one to tell me. My dad knew best though, and I'm forever grateful that I didn't receive that news through a phone call while I was all alone. The rest of that day was a haze of phone calls, checking flights to Alaska, and then making arrangements for my dad's return.

The first time that God really showed Himself in this process was that night. After the news of my mom's death, friends were in their cars driving from Alpharetta and Knoxville to Nashville. Jim and Amye's house became the meeting point for everyone. Ten of my very closest friends all ended up there, and after eating for the first time that day (mexican of course), we ended up in the Harrison's backyard and an amazing thing happened. We laughed. We spent hours genuinely, wholeheartedly laughing. Of course, there had been tears all day. But, that night, we weren't avoiding reality or distracting ourselves. Being with each other brought reminiscing and stories that produced tears of laughter. I knew that my mom would have loved nothing more than to know that my amazing friends were building my support system and bringing me joy in the midst of my pain. My mom loved the sound of laughter more than anyone I know, so that night was a perfect tribute to her.