I hate it when kids die. You can�t help but wonder what kind of cosmic justice would allow them to get themselves killed and leave us here in mourning, unable to tell them one more time how much we love them, unable to hug them just one more time.
�Good-bye. I love you. Have fun, and be careful,� I would tell my teenagers as they left the house. They would squirm and shrug it off. Sometimes they�d roll their eyes in exasperation and say, �Aw, Mom! We�re just going out with some friends. What could happen?�
Well, those of us with a few gray hairs on our heads know that plenty can happen, and does happen. Every time our loved ones pass out of our sight we pray that none of the bad things will happen to them.
Car accidents. Farm accidents. Snowmobile accidents. Freak accidents. Suicide. Cancer and other illnesses, lingering or sudden. Those are some of the bad things that have happened to kids from our community, and that have taken them away from us.
With kids, it�s not just their parents that love them and miss them. Kids are a part of the community; everyone in the community welcomes their births, and watches them grow, and swells with pride at their accomplishments, and tut-tuts at their shortcomings, and worries as to whether they will ever find their way and be OK. But we expect them to keep on going, keep on growing. We don�t expect them to come to a sudden stop, with their early promise unfulfilled and their goals unmet.
When we lose a young person, the community loses, period. Today�s youth are the hopes of tomorrow. When a youngster dies, a little of our hope dies, too, and our faith is shaken. We join the family in mourning a lost child, for it is our loss, as well.
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