Isn’t she lovely?

My mother’s family are all very close to one another, and when tragedy strikes, it grips us all. And nothing could be more tragic than what happened over the past two days.

But let me back up a second. My cousin, Kimberly, was born on Christmas Day, 1990, to my uncle Ricky, who is the youngest of my mom’s eight siblings. My grandparents had nine kids, so inevitably that means a lot of grandchildren. Of about 30 grandkids, Kim was the second-to-last (only her brother, Jake, is younger. I was fourth to youngest) And as the younger kids are, usually, we were the favorites. I like to think, at least.

I can remember well when Kimberly was born. She was the first baby I ever held. We all used to go to the beach together on the Fourth of July, and I always remember everyone being very protective over her, because not long after she was born she had an intestinal problem that nearly took her life. Because she came so close to death, and because she was about the cutest little girl of all time, she held a special place in everyone’s hearts.

But she lived in Eden, N.C., north of Greensboro near Reidsville, so I didn’t really get to see her that much, especially in the last 5-10 years. She was always frozen in time in my mind as that little toddler.

The last time I saw Kim was at Christmas two years ago, and she was all grown up. It was great. Then a few months ago I got a friend request on Facebook from the incredibly beautiful girl, and was shocked when I read the name ‘Kim Shea Norris.’ Seriously, she could have been a model or an actress.

She had turned into a beautiful young woman that seemed ready to tackle the world after graduating from high school this month. But it was not meant to be. Kim and her brother were driving home from school Monday when she wrecked and was thrown from her car. She died early this morning. Her brother survived.

I honestly do not really understand why bad things happen to such good people. And it seems tragedies like this always happen right around this time of the year, around graduation. In 1999, just a few months before my graduation, two girls from my class (Hannah Seawell and Ashley LeGrande) died in a car wreck. A few years later two more died. Just recently a young girl in Pinehurst died.

Maybe our young people drive more in the summer months? Maybe the have more time on their hands? I don’t know, but it just doesn’t seem fair right now.

So be careful with your kids this summer. Hug ‘em and tell them you love them. Because you never know.