Community

Losing a child is as bad as it gets. There’s nothing worse. And yet we count our blessings.

Two things got us through. One was our faith. Tested for sure, but it grew under the strain, then flowered under His love.

The other thing that rescued us was the support of community. From the beginning the Lubbock-Cooper community, as well as friends from Meadow, Garden City and other places picked us up. Day after day. All through that horrible first year and still yet today. It’s amazing. It’s heart-warming. It’s inspiring.

There were so many people there for us: Pat and Jo Henderson, the Edwards, the Vestal’s, the Howells, Kelsey’s classmates. So many people.

Flowers and cards. Letters, essays, poems and posters. Renderings of photographs. Quilts. The car window decal. Tattoos. Alexandra Nanny’s rock. Amanda Kitten’s essay. Kandice Bowie’s poem. Drawings from a mystery artist. Letters from a person in jail. The first small cross at the accident site. The bigger one later. The football flag. The football jersey. Kelsey’s retired jersey—worn by Kayla one more time. The flag from Governor Perry. Special songs at band concerts. The memorial garden-- a labor of love by dozens and dozens of people.

On and on. Every day. For a year Tracy Henson sent us a card every week.

The outpouring was so great and so wonderful that at times it almost swamped us.

As tough as it was, if we had not been people of faith, and if we had not been in the community we were, we know that it would have been that much tougher.

So yes, we count our blessings.