Life is funny.
Right after Halloween, we found Alexandra's old letter magnets shoved into her toy kitchen's oven and I put them back on the fridge. She has managed to get most of them back into a purse or her shopping cart, but a few remained on the fridge, and last week I went to get something out of the refrigerator and the letters spelled BLAZ.
This isn't the first time baby girl has spelled something out with her magnets. At the ripe age of one, she managed to string together a swear word:
But this accident of letters was different. One of my close childhood into high school friends, Heidi Blazevich, died in November of 1990 in a car accident while driving to school. Every November I constantly wonder about her, who she would be today if she had not died, how her parents are coping years later, what happened with her older brother and sisters...A whole mind full of questions that all begin with the "What if..." regarding her death. I can replay the day of her accident like yesterday: I remember where I was standing in the hallways of Park View High School when I was told, where I was when she died, how she looked in the casket...It seems like yesterday, but here I am, 19 years later and still thinking of Heidi.
When Alexandra accidentaly strung together BLAZ (Heidi's nickname), I couldn't help but think that this was Heidi's way of giving a little wave in my direction, reminding me to be thankful for the past 19 years of my life that I have experienced.
Although each November I repeatedly meditate on my life while thinking of Heidi, I love that my daughter was the one to prod me into this reflective space this year. It really is the small, simple things that make life so beautiful and make me so thankful to be alive.
there are angels among us, and that is evidence, no doubt! how awesome.
ReplyDeleteGot goosebumps reading that Lori. I always think about her today into tomorrow. I'm so thankful to have "the girls" in my life who went through this with me. Love you tons.
ReplyDeleteYay, it finally let me post a comment. I've tried for months to no avail. Crazy! See, Heidi had something to do with this. LOL
ReplyDeleteI was just randomly thinking about Heidi this evening and typed in her name in the Google search box and this is what I came up with. I was fortunate to have played basketball with her in middle school (it must have been because I went to Broad Run HS, not PVH). I knew right away she was our team's star player (she consistently scored the most baskets in any game and I, well...I wasn't all that good). I've often wondered about her playing for the WNBA. I've no doubt she would have made it. I found out about her accident several years after it happened. Her parents graciously allowed me to have closure by picking me up at the train station (I traveled from college back to NOVA to meet with them), talking to me about some of her favorite things, looking through a photo album and visiting her grave site together. Her tombstone is engraved with a quotation about her love of animals, which she had inscribed in her journal. It is beautiful. Her death was a profound loss for me because I lost someone who treated me genuinely and without judgment (I went through the "awkward" stage back then). I will always remember her for her kindness towards me. At this visit, I learned that on the slight incline where she was hit, they've put up a Stop sign so that now, drivers are required to stop before passing through the intersection. Who knows how many lives she has saved since then? Thank you for having positively influenced her life and for remembering her through your blog. What a neat surprise to find it...
ReplyDeleteHow strange. I went to Park View thru March of 1991, and had Art class with Heidi. We were are from friends, but I remember her even to this day because she was the first classmate I ever had that passed way too early. Her death was hard on many in PVHS, because of the circustances surround it and the fact that she was a smart, friendly athlete at the school. I think of her occasionally, mostly when thinking of my time at PVHS. Glad I came across this.
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