Six years ago

Do you remember what you were doing 6 years ago today? I do. I remember getting a phone call that would change my life. My best friend, Stephanie Harmon, was in a terrible car accident.She had been hit by a drunk driver on her way back from the beach. I remember thinking in my mind, "Ok, she's been in this accident, she'll be ok. I know they say it's bad, but Steff's tough. She'll pull through. I'll take my exam tomorrow morning and head down to the hospital and stay with her until she does." What I didn't know was that she had already passed away. My mom wouldn't let anyone tell me until she got up to Birmingham to pick me up. I got a phone call in the mean time from a mutual friend asking if I could let me them know about any arrangements. I remember saying "Oh, she's not dead" and the friend sounding very confused...then I called my mom who was in the car (I had no idea) and she just started bawling saying she was so sorry. I remember falling to my knees, literally, with my roommates by my side and just sobbing. I couldn't believe it. She was gone. I had just gotten a text from her the night before. I had gone to the Crawfish Boil and sent her a picture message (they were the "new" thing) of the band and she wrote back "Awesome!" That text summed up our friendship. It was "Awesome!" We had so many memories. We did some crazy things. From Ft. Lauderdale, to Colorado, California, to Highlands and the beach, we had made so many amazing memories together that I will never forget. We spent a week at Disney for our Senior trip and had a blast. She was so sophisticated and seemed so much more mature than me and our other friends. She introduced me to calamari, sushi, arugula...just to name a few. We would go to these super nice restaurants and she would tell me exactly what to order because she knew what I would and wouldn't like, and she was always right (and because my mom thought $5.00 was sufficient for a meal, she would always have her mom treat us so that I wouldn't be embarrassed that we couldn't do something). When we were in California we went to the Jay Leno Show (front row) and acted like we were so cool. We went to the Ivy, snuck into the lots at the studios and walked around like we knew what we were doing. We shared a love of "pop music" We went to every single Brittney, NSync, and Backstreet Boys concerts from here to Atlanta, and she even was able to help me convince my mom (a teacher) that I needed to miss a day of school to go to some of these...She had the BEST personality. She was so opinionated and I loved that. She was able to make me "cool" She would take me shopping and help me pick out my most stylish clothes. She introduced me to Trish McEvoy (Wade is not so grateful about one...he wishes I would stick with Covergirl...) The list could go on and on. I had had my ups and downs with dealing with her death. I know everything happens for a reason. I know she had a purpose on this earth that was fulfilled. I wish I had one more day to spend with her, but I know I'll spend an eternity with her, because I know she is in Heaven. I really do think about her every day. I often think about what she would look like today. As I got married I wished she could be up there as a bridesmaid. When I had Mac I wished she was there to meet him because I know, no matter where she was living she would have made the trip. As Mac is starting to recognize people I wish that Steff was one of those, because I know he would have loved her! Certain things in life happen and I wish I could talk to her face to face about them. Sometimes I "talk" to her still. I know she can hear me. I am thankful for the years were about to spend together and mostly thankful that I will see her again.