Lynzay's Smile

This is Lynzay. Lynzay Marie Legois. In this photo, Lynzay is atop a water ski pyramid. Look at her smile! The joy, the peace, the wonder, the thrill, the kid.

Lynzay left us 3 years ago in December. God grabbed her from us, so quickly. She did not suffer, and we know she is laughing and smiling, somewhere in God's heaven above.

Yet, for those left behind, I pray daily. They are lost, hurting, and will never recover from the loss of this sweet child. An only child, an only grandchild, never to be another.

I wish I had something really profound to say about what I feel about loosing Lynzay. I remember the night the call came in. It was around 8 pm. Ari was just a few months old. I heard my mother answer her cell phone, it was my grandmother. That was odd. My Nana usually did not call at that time. It was a weeknight too, so that was strange. The next word out of my mother's mouth was "what." Then louder, another, "what, what is it." Then, screaming. I rushed Ari into the bedroom because my mother began screaming out of control. Ari began to cry, loudly. I then started to yell at my mother to tell me what was going on, what was wrong. She said, so matter of fact, "Lynzay's dead."

Lynzay's dead.

Now the tears well up as I recall the cold December funeral. Getting on the plane to fly home to Wisconsin for the wake and the funeral, my mother so distraught, she began making a scene. I choked back the tears and told the stewardess, "I'm so sorry but please, we just lost a child in our family and we are trying to get home for her funeral." Slowly, the news trickled in about how she died. It was a day marked by extreme fog. Her father was driving. They were chatting about Sweet Tarts, and then it was over. The Jeep smashed into the back of a semi. All of her fingers and toes broken, blood running from her ears.

The aftermath will never end, and neither will my memories of her. I don't have one single bad one, they were all nice and sweet and fun, just like Lynzay was. To learn more about my sweet cousin who lost her life on earth at just 14 years old, please visit: http://www.lynzay.org/

We miss you sweetie we love you and we will see you again one day.

And.....I know that Lynzay would think adopting a child is a wonderful thing to do. She was so, so excited about the new baby that was on it's way when she passed. She was a peacemaker at her school, and made it a point to love everyone.