On March 28th our little neighborhood experienced a tragedy that shook us. Our neighbors, the Harding's, lost their cute little two year old boy, Tui. He darted out in front of their car when his mom, Nikki, was pulling out to go to the General Women's meeting broadcast. My friend Tara picked me up to go to the broadcast and I saw all the police cars blocking off the street by the Harding's circle, but I didn't know what had happened. I asked another neighbor who was outside and she told me that one of the Harding kids had been hit but we didn't know which child it was until later that night. We went to the broadcast, but I was really upset and worried.
About 20 minutes into the broadcast I heard that Tui had died in this accident. My friend, Jeanne and I hopped in her car and headed back to the neighborhood to see if there was anything we could do to help. The circle was still blocked off, but there were a handful of neighbors left outside. It was pretty awful. We felt completely helpless. There was nothing any of us could do. I can never unsee my sweet friend, Nikki, kneeling by her child's body. I am so heartbroken for her and her family.
Once we realized there was nothing to be done at that moment, Jeanne and I headed back to the broadcast. My mind was reeling, but I felt like I should go back. I am so glad that I did. Just after I got back to my seat, President Eyring got up to speak. I was expecting a message about the importance of women in the church/home/families, but instead he spoke about how to bear one another's burdens. It was exactly what I, and our whole community, needed to hear. I was so glad that I was there to hear his talk.
The next few days were kind of a blur as our neighborhood pulled together to shower the Hardings with love and support. We tied BYU blue (Tui's favorite) ribbons all over the neighborhood, wore blue to church, sang hymns at their home, and all pitched in to coordinate the funeral preparations. For playgroup that week we put together a big Easter basket for the kids. Ian made Avengers (also Tui's favorite) magnet decals for the hearse. Another one of our friends/neighbors is a mortician. He took care of Tui. Another friend/neighbor is a photographer and took heartbreakingly beautiful photos of everything. It was such a blessing that our community could do so much to help.
The next weekend was Easter and General Conference. The message of hope in Jesus Christ that we focus on at Easter time felt that much sweeter after Tui's death. We still had fun celebrating the festivities while we participated in Conference and heard lots of great messages from the leaders of the church. Friday night we colored Easter eggs with the kids.
3 comments:
So sad about the boy in your neighborhood. And how heartbreaking for his family and everyone who knows them. President Eyring's talk was apparently needed all over the place. During it I was sitting behind a woman in my ward whose 3 year old son was just diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer.
I can't even read this without choking up. What a tragic story. Prayers for their family.
I'm just getting to blogs...so sad and sweet to read about your friend and family. Still hard to read and think about. I hope they are still doing OK. Love all the Easter pictures!!
Post a Comment