Ive been missing Shannon a lot lately. I guess her Facebook page is gone. I wish I had the courage to stand up at her funeral and talk about her. Everything just happened so quickly. I met her when I was 6 years old. She was a year younger than me. We played at my house most of the time, at a duplex community we called the Ski Apartments. We did all the things kids do, rolled down the hill, colored on the sidewalks, and played hide and seek in the plum trees and lilac bushes. But life wasnt always so fun for her. Her mother was killed when she was in about second grade and she was taken out of school to be home schooled. She was needed at home to take care of her brothers. This was really hard for a smart, outgoing young girl, but she did it. And she rarely complained. She would come over after I got home from school to play and see if I (or my mother) need any help with anything. When she returned to school in about the 7th grade she did very well. She was always smart, I knew that. But she also noticed something. People around her were uncomfortable with how smart she was. Not just book smart, but real world smart. She had acquired experience and knowledge beyond the everyday shallowness of a middle school kid. So, she put up a rouse. She acted a bit ditzy, she kept her knowledge to herself, and unfortunately this was the way she fit in. But her kindness, caring and concern for others was genuine. When we were about 13 and 14 we used to sneak out and go play pool with the older boys at Hi and Mikes. Trisha was also along for so many of the shenanigans. But is was at Q-Zar (An arcade at the Sandy Mall) that we spent most of our days. We would play laser tag, or just loiter. It was there that we met our first real boyfriends, and had our first real kisses. I met Bryan, and she met Dave. We had a ton of fun, Dave tried to teach her to play the guitar, but to no avail. We also had some tough times, but I am happy to say we all stayed friends. When Shannon was 15 She had her heart broken by a boy named Adam. He was her first and she thought he was going to sweep her away and marry her. He didnt. Soon after, someone else came along and got her pregnant. I remember my mother saying that she would have adopted Shannon, we were always together anyway, but of course she couldnt. Instead she offered to have Shannon move in with us and we could help her take care of the baby. Shannon knew this would hurt her family so she declined. Shannon went into labor on a school night. My mother dropped me off at St. Marks Hospital to be with her. We spent the night eating FLIPZ chocolate covered pretzels, watching movies, laughing at her contractions, and noting the rate that she was dilating. In the wee hours of the morning the man who got her pregnant and his family finally showed up. They kicked me out of the room and screamed and yelled at each other while Shannon gave birth. It was awful. Finally after Mikey was born I went back in to see her. They asked me if I would be Mikeys Godmother. A big responsibility for a 16 year old girl, but of course I said yes. When I got a moment alone with her I asked how she was. She said she was tired and a bit sore, but otherwise great. Then she asked me if I was OK. Once again showing her undying concern for others. A while later Christopher was born and she moved to Miami. We spoke on the phone often. She had lots of great adventures, made tons of new friends, but also had some rough times. She called me one day crying. She had just attended the funeral of her baby girl. She always wanted a girl. We talked about it often. Her in-laws had offered to take care of the funeral arrangements. She was so heart broken and touched that they would actually do something nice for her that she accepted. They did the entire service in Spanish. Shannon doesnt speak Spanish. She didnt understand a word of her own daughters funeral. She was beside herself with grief. With every thing she had been through, my strong Shannon was broken. Soon after she found out her husband had a whole other family... kids and all... and decided to come back to Salt Lake. After getting her children here and getting all settled in we flew back to Miami to clean out her storage unit, and bring home her dog. I had a friend who was also moving from Florida and agreed to let us fill a corner of his moving truck, and even offered to bring the dog so we could fly back a few days later. So we rented a moving van, cleaned out the unit, and decided to have some fun before picking up the dog. One day we went to a beach festival with the full van, and tried to park in the parking structure. We hit the top of the van on the ceiling driving in!! It was a terrifying sound! We broke a light on the parking garage and badly scraped the top of the van. After we pulled out (people yelling at us the whole time) and parked somewhere else we got out and laughed till we cried. We thought it was hilarious once it was over! The last day there we went to pick up the dog, thats when I met Mos, and took the dog and her stuff to meet up with my friend. He drove every thing back for us, and, of course, the dog had fleas and went into heat on the way back to Salt Lake!! Through all this, she was always bright eyed and smiling, always looking for the next fun adventure. Well, as you know, Mos followed her to Salt Lake, offered to take care of her, and her children, and married her. We had a blast at her Bachelorette party. Sarah MacFarland, Amanda Pyle Lyday, Trisha and others had a great time celebrating. After wards life never stopped being hard for her. She took wonderful care of her boys, and worked at both Home Depot and the liquor store by my house. She always had a smile on her face. She always greeted me with a wonderful hug, even if the line at work was long. I admit I didnt see her as often as I wanted to. There was always work, school, and general life taking our precious time away. But we always picked up right were we left off. As if we had just hung out the day before. This is the Shannon I remember. So many more experiences, hardships and laughter than I have even touched on here. So strong, kind, and loving through all the bullshit life through at her. I miss her everyday.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:50:58 +0000
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