Goodbye Jayda

     I went to a funeral today.  My friend Gene "Shooby" Dillard's and his girlfriend Shelley Walters baby girl, Jayda Walters, drowned at Styx Rivers.  She was only three years old.  What a sad day!  I think of all the things she wont do, all the accomplishments she wont have, and all the life changing moments that will never be hers to experience.  Then I think of all the things a mother looks forward to for her child and Shelley will never get to see that with Jayda.  She will never get to see her graduate from school or college, never see her fall in love or get married, never see her get her first job or buy her first car, and never get to see her pregnant with her first child or have kids of her own.  All the promises that she once had for her child are forever gone.

     This was a child that I held in my arms when she was just a baby and I thought out loud how absolutely beautiful she was.  It just makes me so sad that I wont get to see the woman she would grow into.  I can only hope that her family can find a way to get through this loss allowing them to find peace and joy again.

     This was an awful accident of a child that was taken way too soon.  Please watch your kids like a hawk when they are around water because those little legs can move so fast.  One minute they are right next to you and the next you don't know where they are.  You wont believe how many small children drown in this country.  In fact the same week that Jayda drowned another two year old boy drowned in a neighbor's pool.  Don't be ashamed to ask friends to help you watch your child especially if you have to watch more than one.  As a parent it is our job to protect our children and some times we need help doing our jobs efficiently.

     Goodbye Jayda you will be so missed.