Good-byes said too soon

I've been to far too many funerals for people under the age of 18. Really, just one is too many. Since I started teaching nearly a year ago, our school has lost three students tragically. I taught one of those students last year; another passed away this weekend.

Deaths of young people always seem senseless, but they often seem to be preventable as well. The teens I've lost have died by driving recklessly or by carelessly walking where they shouldn't have been. They're young and fearless: too young for death to find them.

I know someday, several years from now, Matt and I will have to let our children drive, take risks and learn from bad decisions. I just hope that they always remember how fragile a life can be, even a young one.