RIP Stacie

9/15/1986 - 9/15/2010

My dear friend Stacie passed away yesterday. I thought for sure she would pull through her serious accident, she's always been one of the strongest people I have ever known. I still can't accept that she is gone. I can only process a small fraction of this tragedy at a time, which is probably for the best because everytime I do my heart literally hurts.

I hate that I still feel like I could call her and catch up on lost time. I hate that such a precious life could be taken away in just a matter of seconds. I hate that she never got to meet Henry. It's all so unfair.

Stacie and I have been friends since we were little kids. I used to go over to her house and play army soldiers, drink chocolate milk, and try to annoy her older sister Lisa. Our summers together were packed with camping trips, water balloon fights, and sleepovers. In college we found ourselves meeting up on break to hang out with our friends until early morning.

When we were six or so, Stacie would say, "Hey Allie, say 'Sleeping Beauty' again", to which I would reply, "Sleeping Booty" because apparently I had an awful hard time with the "eau" sound. She would start laughing so hard her eyes would fill up with tears.

One time Stacie's sister Lisa was babysitting us and she was listening to Alanis Morrisettee. We told her that she shouldn't be listening to it because she said the word "maggot" and Lisa laughed and asked us if we even knew what that word meant. Of course we didn't and that made us feel like idiots for calling her out on something so stupid. We got back at her real good though by hiding in her closet, quietly giggling while she called a boy that she had a huge crush on. And then we told her mom about it.

As we grew up together, I learned so much from Stacie. She taught me how to love unconditionally. Even when she was dealing with the crappy parts of life (we all have them) her eyes would smile as she talked about the good she did know. Stacie was my silly friend. We were always laughing about the dumbest things together, it was nice knowing that someone else shared my weird sense of humor.

Stacie is one of the lucky few who has really experienced life. Her spontaneity has taken her to Colorado, Nepal, and India and the last time I talked to her she was living in a VW van, obviously enjoying life as it was meant to be experienced. Simple and free, surrounded by friends and life experiences rather than stupid material crap like tvs or new clothes. Stacie's passion and love for life was contagious and I know I'm not the only one who was greatly affected by this.

Stacie, you were taken much too soon and it's really hard to deal with your sudden absence from my life. I miss you so much my love.