The hardest post I've ever had to write.

So today as I was excitedly getting ready for my daughters very awesome cost a fortune Sweet 16 party this weekend she comes in and says, Mom my friend died. I looked at her for a second trying to find the right words that wouldn't come. I am usually really good with knowing what to say. My kids friends even come to me for advice or just to talk, but this time I was silent. How did it happen? It was the only thing I could think of. What a dumb response. I should have hugged her, told her it would be okay, but instead, how did it happen? She looked at me with this look of greif I never want to see on one of my children's faces again and said I don't know yet.

The chicken I am I hid in my sons room and asked my pastor to talk to her. I face booked her messages and walked out and hugged her once. I just couldn't stand to see those tears in her eyes. Worst of all I couldn't get the thought out of my head that this child was my daughters age. I put myself in this girls parents shoes and my heart tore out. The pain they had to feel must have been unimaginable. This beautiful, fun loving girl, gone in an instant. I thought of last weekend when I laughed at a picture Sara sent me with this group of kids with Avery right there in the back. They were trying to look so cool. It reminded me of myself and my friends when I was a teen. I thought it was so funny I posted it in one of my private groups. I never could have thought this would happen 6 days later.

I messaged some of Sara's friends to let them know I was there. I came out of the room and sat down beside my daughter. I talked with her a bit and we decided to do a balloon release at her Sweet 16 so all their friends could honor this life gone too soon. My daughter smiled and said she thought it was a gfood idea and so did her friends. It's a simple gesture I hope will bring them some comfort. We also thought it would be nice to write a note to Avery on the balloons (Thanks Pastor Jessica for the idea).

I hope I never have to see any of my kids go through this again. I wish I had some place to turn as a parent to learn how to help my kid through this, but like most everything else in parenting we learn as we go along.

I may never have had the pleasure to have met Avery, but I know if sara liked her she must have been someone pretty special!

RIP baby girl. You and your family are in my prayers and you are in the hand of Jesus.

If you are so inclined here is a GoFundMe for the family. As you can imagine this was very unexpected and expensive. http://www.gofundme.com/wsk3bdg