I'm about to do the hardest thing I've done as a mother. I am going to tell my 6-year-old daughter that Angela, her friend, has passed away and won't visit us anymore. I don't know what I'll say if she asks me what happened.
My daughter thinks she's the "funnest" person ever.
I rarely got to talk to Angela because every time she passed through and visited our Home, my daughter monopolized her attention. Angela would get wrapped up in playing dolls with my little girl, or checking out her paintings while proclaiming her an artist, or gathering flowers together to make a princess hat. I learned so much from Angela while watching her interact with my daughter, and I hope that I can honor her memory by having that same joy, energy, and passion for fun the next time I'm asked to play dolls.
It has been a long time since Angela’s last visit, but my daughter still talks about her and remembers her well. We opened an envelope with a sheet of glittery unicorn stickers that Angela sent us shortly before she was killed. It will be the last gift my daughter receives from her.
Do I feel rage? No. I’m still too sad. Her death affects us in a very personal way. Do I believe what has been said about her past and the claimed reasons for her murder? Not a chance. I think God gives mothers a sense about the people who interact with our kids. She was a caring, loving, giving woman. Angels must have trumpeted her arrival to the Gates and I'd like to believe she's enjoying Heaven's reward for all the hearts that she touched with love in the years the earth was blessed with her presence.