One of the Hardest Weeks

Life isn't fair sometimes.

This past Friday night, I started getting ready for bed by doing my usual Facebook, Pinterest, and Email checking as Amity and Aaron were winding down for sleep.

As I was reading, I noticed a lot of people were commenting on an old friend of mine's wall, writing things about how much he will be missed and how great of a man he was. I was stopped. Gasping aloud, I burst into tears as I then found myself reading a post my childhood pastor made about how my friend, Jeff Ipsen had passed away due to an accident back-country-skiing with his brother and two friends.

How could this be? This month has felt so difficult in so many ways and for a life so young, active, and wonderful to be gone from this world, just left me feeling uneasy and alone.

Jeff and I were pretty close when I was in high school. Growing up going to youth group together, I remember my friend Sarah and I, both a year older than Jeff, immediately made up the name "Jefe" for him and always referred to him as such. He was the kind of guy to always leave you smiling because that's how you'd find him. He was fun, wild, crazy, yet sweet, endearing, and thoughtful.

As time went by, we both grew apart and I went off to college and a year later he did the same. Our main method of communication for the last several years has been Facebook, but I've come to see that he is really gone and I won't be seeing all of these awesome, adventurous photos of his anymore adorning his page. :(

Tomorrow I plan to visit his funeral service and sit with all of our old friends from high school youth group. He was loved by many, and will be missed greatly, but I know he's with Jesus and probably finding the slopes in heaven to be the best powder he's ever skied before.



Unfortunately, that wasn't the only bad news to befall my group of "long-ago friends" on Saturday. Today I was called by someone looking for a friend of mine who had recently gotten herself into some trouble. We hadn't been able to speak much recently and therefore I've been somewhat unaware of her whereabouts and how things have been going.

Her name was Dimple Gandhi and she was one of my bridesmaids. We met when I went to UNC and roomed together my second semester on campus. She was at my side after my car accident with Aaron and proved to be an extremely good friend over the years.

Dimple had some rough patches she endured once we both were done with school and parted ways. She was married to a "not-so-great" guy and had three beautiful kids with him, that she eventually raised on her own. Her kids are the most precious little ones you could ever hope to meet and often, despite all the hardship she'd fallen into, I would tell Dimple that she was "Super-Mom" and I have never known someone who could do the kind of things she has as a single mom. She was inspiring.

Over the last year or so, Dimple had lost sight of that. It's my assumption she had gotten herself mixed up with the wrong crowd and depression found her and took hold of her life.

While talking today with her husband John, I asked to have the full story and this is what he said:

Dimple was still sleeping when Saturday morning rolled around and so he got Jordan (her oldest son - about 1st grade age), and the twins (about 5 yrs old) up and ready for an Easter photo shoot and got breakfast going. Before long he went back upstairs to get Dimple up, since she'd slept through all the commotion only to find her lips were blue and she wasn't breathing. He immediately called 911, and though the paramedics did all they could to revive her, she never woke up.

I don't know what happened, except a dear friend of mine, who I once was very close to, is now gone. She leaves behind three children who will not know all the wonderful things their mother has done to protect them from harm along their short journey in life, and how much she loved them from the moment she knew they were on their way into this world. I hope that her family, friends, and I can somehow relay that to them in ways they will understand and be able to grasp as they grow up without a mother and sadly, a father as well.

Jeff and Dimple,

You were wonderful people who I will miss terribly. Thank you for being a part of my life. Though our time together wasn't terribly long, my memory of you will be. Love you both...

K