I did some more digging and found out that earlier that morning, the mother of Miriam's best friend had been run over and killed in her front yard. It's still unbelievable. She was helping her neighbor (literally, helping her neighbor) who was involved in a domestic dispute. The young man had gotten into his car and left, but came back. The young woman was hurt, but Dena was killed immediately.
After the Fourth of July pancake breakfast the next morning, I sat Miriam down and explained what had happened. Miriam has spent so much time at their house and Dena was always so good to Miriam. She asked if she could go visit Christina, so I drove her over. It was only 9:30 in the morning, the police tape was still across part of the sidewalk, the fence was knocked down, and tire treads marked the grass. It wasn't gruesome, but it was real. The house was quiet and I had a few moments to chat with Dena's husband (also Jim) while the girls played. He was still in shock, but grateful that Miriam had come by. He had talked with all the kids last night and Christina had asked what Miriam might think. She thought Miriam would be sad because she loved Dena too. I ended up leaving Miriam there to play for an hour that morning.
There was a memorial service the next week at their church. They were very active in their church and there was a large turnout. Jim took the day off work and we took Ryan and the girls with us. We saw many parent from the school, but not many other kids. Miriam saw with Christina during the service. It was very different from any funeral or memorial service we had ever been too. They had a praise band and did a lot of singing with them. It was a nice celebration of Dena's life and you could feel the love so many people had for her and how many lives she and her husband had touched.
1 comment:
That was sweet that Miriam sat w/ Christina during the service and especially nice and the whole family . . Jim & Ryan included came too!
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