21 Years
21 years to date of the anniversary of a bad day. Four of my friends in high school took a road trip to Maine and two of them never made it. A third ended up in critical condition but survived. The fourth walked away because he was the only one wearing his seat belt when the crash occurred. I am sure I’ve spoken about it in the past on here, but it’s a tough date and a hard memory to revisit every year.
I used to exchange texts with a few people every year on the anniversary just to let them know I’m thinking about them. I don’t remember when we stopped doing that. I don’t plan to talk about it at all today with anyone, honestly, and I’m fine with processing it alone. The core group grew up and apart, and I don’t know where their families are any longer. At this point, I’m not sure revisiting our relationships makes sense due to how much time has passed without contact.
I’m not the type to post about it to social media, so I’ll commemorate it here in this personal space. Craig and Tyler, I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the accident. I have no idea if we would still be friends 21 years after high school, but I wish your lives weren’t taken from you so soon. I missed you then, and I still miss you now.
It’s a travesty that we couldn’t see your lives play out alongside the rest of us. Eighteen is too young to die.