Remembering Karli

I loved Karli Rose. In fact, I think I love her still. I've lost many loved ones, and I don't remember the whens exactly. But when someone dies on your 18th birthday, it's pretty hard to forget the day. So it's easy to calculate that today Karli has been gone from us 7 years, 5 months, and 11 days.

I ran into Karli's family the other day. Her beautiful family. At the noodle restaurant. There they were. Ellis, Kristi, and Alli. And another little girl. A precious little girl. Four years old maybe.

I hadn't seen the whole family together in so very long. I couldn't help but come and say hi and almost cry and just want to be with them. Alli, always known to me as Karli's little sister, introduced me to this little girl. Her daughter. Her daughter Karli. What a beautiful name. What a beautiful memory. What a beautiful tribute. Little Karli. She shared with little Karli that I was a friend of Aunt Karli's. That we went to school together and that we were dear friends. I wanted to hold little Karli in my arms and cry. of missing and of longing and of beauty. I'm thinking of Karli today.