Where There's Smoke

It's OK to ask me about Her. Don't be concerned that mentioning Her will bring Her to mind and make me sad. She's never not on my mind. And I'll always be sad that She's gone. But I'll also always be happy that I had Her in my life. Not just happy...blessed. I will always think of Her. Every day. Some days, all day. Those days can be really heavy. But when you ask me about Her, it tells me you cared about Her, me, or both of us. That makes the heavy just a little bit lighter. On the less heavy days, asking me about Her makes me smile. I think of some silly thing She did that made me laugh. Or some crazy thing She did that made me shake my head. But it always reminds me how fortunate I was to have Her in my life for 27 years. I don't talk about Her nearly as much as I think about Her. I don't want you to have to feel the heavy. So even though I talk about Her sometimes, I keep most of it to myself. And that can be a little bit lonely. But that's OK.

Welcome to your life There’s no turning back On May 6, 2023, at 1:46 am Eastern Daylight Time, Lauren Renee Higginbotham died of multiple organ failure due to cirrhosis, resulting from alcohol dependence. She died of what is commonly called alcoholism. Lauren was 30 years old. And she was my daughter. It’s my own design It’s my own remorse Help me to decide Lauren knew she was an alcoholic. She entered her first alcohol treatment program at age 21. Over the next nine years, Lauren was treated multiple times for alcohol abuse and dependence, as well as other issues related to (and not related to) alcoholism. At one point, she had remained sober for more than one year before once again drinking, which she knew would not turn out well. And it didn’t. Help me make the Most of freedom and of pleasure Lauren loved the beach. She lived most of her life in Florida, so it’s what she knew and where she found peace. Lauren also loved her friends. She was what I like to call a “friend collector.