This week was a particularly difficult one for me. A wonderful neighbor in Green Bay lost her daughter on Tuesday. Shannon, name written with permission from her Mom, was a bright girl who went to school with Kyle from Kindergarten to 12th grade. She began her depression in high school and it perhaps was associated with her sharing of her alternative lifestyle. Even in a community where living an alternative lifestyle is thought to be respected in the education and community environments she struggled. Mental health issues are all around us. My son, Kyle, was really surprised and saddened by the news. He rode the bus, shared car rides, and chatted with her over coffee when he came home for breaks, and messaged her via Facebook regularly to encourage her and to continue to be her friend. He spoke of her struggle with me throughout the years. The mother cried on my shoulder trying to know the right things to do, to say. Shannon had a heart of gold. It just goes to show we can never know exactly how much someone else is hurting. We cannot ever judge when or if someone is struggling. It makes me pause to think how many people around me are hurting. It is so easy to rush through our own lives.
Take the time today to
watch this video - for all the Shannons around us.
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