I just wanted to survive the last six days. Birthdays used to be a big deal at our house, so I just wanted the 14th and the 20th to come and go. They did, but on the morning of the 21st, nothing was better.
We got up anyway. We laughed anyway. We hugged on dear friends anyway. We cooked football food and ate anyway. When people asked how we are, we smiled anyway and said we were good. The three of us are good; we are just not who we were before. When we tease, there is a voice missing. When we laugh, a rich, deep laugh remains absent. When we cook, we fight with one less pair of hands. When we yell for OSU and come up short, we are without our rogue Sooner who would scoff at our Cowboy faith. We get up anyway.
We continue to be moved by the messages her friends write about her, the texts they send us, and the way they remember their friend. I think the love these young people share keeps us living true to the life our of girl, a heart who loved with abandon, who found happiness with great ease, and who always had a saucy remark waiting for one of us. I am so thankful Taylor's friends shared their cell numbers with me so many years ago and take the time to remember us - on days like Friday - or days when the radio plays a song they'd sing together - or days when the sun hits the clouds and they remember how much she loved the sky.
They are forever family and they each hold a piece of her which means they hold a piece of us. We belong to each other. So, we go forward- anyway - because there is still light to share.
My cousin, Jill, took the canvas she created last November and created a t-shirt for this November. Her friends, our family, our friends took turns paying a kindness forward to share light as well - remembering and honoring Taylor. It's the kind of thing she would have screen-shot and shared with me.
The t-shirt is on sale and can be purchased by emailing [email protected]. The cost will be $20. All of the proceeds will go to the scholarships created in Taylor's name (OU Education, Theta, and/or Union). You are under no pressure to buy a t-shirt - but if you choose to, you will receive an email about how to make payment and about delivery. Our order will be placed Sunday, November 22nd.
We can't just post about her life. I can't just write about life without her. We have to get up anyway - because there is still light to share.
We got up anyway. We laughed anyway. We hugged on dear friends anyway. We cooked football food and ate anyway. When people asked how we are, we smiled anyway and said we were good. The three of us are good; we are just not who we were before. When we tease, there is a voice missing. When we laugh, a rich, deep laugh remains absent. When we cook, we fight with one less pair of hands. When we yell for OSU and come up short, we are without our rogue Sooner who would scoff at our Cowboy faith. We get up anyway.
We continue to be moved by the messages her friends write about her, the texts they send us, and the way they remember their friend. I think the love these young people share keeps us living true to the life our of girl, a heart who loved with abandon, who found happiness with great ease, and who always had a saucy remark waiting for one of us. I am so thankful Taylor's friends shared their cell numbers with me so many years ago and take the time to remember us - on days like Friday - or days when the radio plays a song they'd sing together - or days when the sun hits the clouds and they remember how much she loved the sky.
They are forever family and they each hold a piece of her which means they hold a piece of us. We belong to each other. So, we go forward- anyway - because there is still light to share.
My cousin, Jill, took the canvas she created last November and created a t-shirt for this November. Her friends, our family, our friends took turns paying a kindness forward to share light as well - remembering and honoring Taylor. It's the kind of thing she would have screen-shot and shared with me.
The t-shirt is on sale and can be purchased by emailing [email protected]. The cost will be $20. All of the proceeds will go to the scholarships created in Taylor's name (OU Education, Theta, and/or Union). You are under no pressure to buy a t-shirt - but if you choose to, you will receive an email about how to make payment and about delivery. Our order will be placed Sunday, November 22nd.
We can't just post about her life. I can't just write about life without her. We have to get up anyway - because there is still light to share.
#golighttheworld