Celebrate Life--Love, Laugh, Live

Tim (my son) and Sara

Tomorrow would have been my daughter Sara's birthday. She would be 30 years old. She was taken from us on August 2, 2006,when a generator in her apartment caused carbon monoxide poisoning. There are many responses you can have when you experience such a loss. Because this would have been a significant event in her life, I have been reflecting on many memories. These are some of my memories.

• She LOVED deeply. She cared not only for her family, but was always more concerned about others around her than she was about herself. (She put the generator inside her apartment instead of on the patio so that it wouldn't get stolen, as it belonged to her boss). Many times she showed concern and went out of her way to help others.
• She also loved God. She told me on more than one occassion that she loved the Lord and she knew she would go to heaven when she died.
• She LAUGHED often--and loud! She had a contagious smile and loved to laugh. She could cheer up her friends and family by her ready smile and laughter.
• She LIVED well. She had MANY friends and she loved to have fun. We called her our little socialite, because she was happiest when having a good time with friends and family. She also had goals, and was planning to go back to school. She was a faithful employee and worked at Sonic for many years.

And so today, I choose to celebrate her life. I feel that I was truly blessed to have her as a part of my life for 28 years. For the last year of her life I lived in Indiana and she was in Oklahoma. She would call me at least once a week, and I can still sometimes hear her say, "Hi mama, what's up?" HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARA!