RIP

(I couldn't post this in the same item as my mini-vent.)

Friday morning I lost a colleague and friend in a senseless car accident. She was driving to judge a competition when someone rear-ended her on the highway, her car spun out of control and went into the median, and she struck a tree. Mercifully, she died instantly. Rain, fog, and excessive speed of the other driver appear to be the factors. Suddenly, a young (42) woman who had been part of our work family was gone.

The information reached us erratically, first from television reports, then in articles on web pages, and then the confirmation by school administration. Phone "trees" don't work well during summer vacation when people are in/out/about/on vacation. But then suddenly the bad news is everywhere. I'd forgotten that she was a former Miss NH, and that aspect of her life made her much more a public figure than some of us were ready to see on the evening news last night.

It's still not real to me, and it won't be until I walk into the building and know with more finality that she's not there. Not only are her family members affected(she's divorced, no kids, but has two brothers, her mother, and a niece), but we teachers, her summer school students and the kids who thought she'd be their teacher for the upcoming school year will feel the impact, too. She was a part of the theatre crowd, directing, being a stagehand, acting and singing, and she often encouraged her students to understand the literature they read by acting out portions of it. Educationally, her focus was on her students, providing a balance of holding them accountable and supporting them in their growth.

Socially, Deb had experienced a short marriage and a divorce, a period of dating, and most recently, an increase in her serenity among her friends. She was feeling strength as an independent woman. Odd as it may sound, I'm glad that was her frame of mind at the time when her life unexpectedly ended because it means that there was less turmoil to trouble her and carry with her.

Yes, this kind of tragedy does make me much more aware of the fragility and unpredictability of my own life and of my loved ones. I may or may not be leery of driving that stretch of highway in foggy, rainy conditions, but I will be more aware of each day as an opportunity to enjoy my life and my friends and family while we're all here. I'm just sorry that it took this kind of circumstance to bring the message home to me so vividly.

RIP, Deb.