My girls are both in college, after homeschool, they have had to work extra hard to make friends, a bit difficult when their peers seldom look up from their phones. They managed to create a group of wonderful friends despite this. Anna met Raven in her education classes. Raven worked at Home Goods and helped Anna get a part time job there as well. There, they met Trinity and Michelle and Ashleigh. They got together on their days off to shop and just be friends. My youngest, Grace joined the group and she and Ashleigh hit it off immediately. They are the same age, the "little sisters" of the group and my introverted Grace came out blooming with this new friendship. On Ashleigh's 18th birthday, all the girls surprised her with dinner at a fancy sushi restaurant, followed by an evening at the "escape room", where they had to solve a mystery of a missing necklace in a house full of antiques. They had such a great time. One week later, Memorial weekend, we are all out shopping as a family. I go into a store, the girls wanted to rest in the car. I come out to find them crying as though their hearts would break. "Mom, Ashleigh has been killed in a car crash." She was with her grandparents and cousins going on a camping trip. Their car crossed the line and hit a semi head on. We will never know why. Her grandmother and 9 year old cousin were also killed. Ashleigh was a rather amazing young woman. Although just finishing her junior year in high school, she had already completed half of an associates degree and joined the air force. She loved animals and worked at the local shelter on top of school, college and working. She always tithed part of her salary to her church as well. Our world will be less without her.
