Kendall.... he was the sweetest kid that you could have ever imagined.

As most people know, I worked in a nursing home/rehabilitation facility from my senior year of highschool until I decided to move to Indiana. While there were things that made me crazy while at that job, I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

I had the pleasure of taking care of some of the most amazing people that I've ever come in contact with in my entire life. And not only that, but I also got to know some of the families of these people.... and we all became a second family to one another. Co-workers, residents, friends and family to a point.

It's amazing how close you can get with strangers when you spend hours upon hours and days upon days with them. In the end, they're not strangers anymore and you don't even really know if they were to begin with, because you just know them as someone you love dearly.

One of the lady's that I cared for the longest, became another family to me in our own way. Not only did I spend more hours than I could ever count with her, I also got to know her family very well and spend time with them. In that situation, there are families that show and put forth effort and then sadly, there are ones that do not. She happened to have a very involved family.... particularly her two daughters and grandson.

These are good people. Kind people. They're the kind of people that you think about when you think of a small town and the families that have lived there for generations.

Sure, they have their problems, and they make no excuses for those and are actually very open about them, but no matter the problem, they're the kind of people that you can count on having your back.

I know that they've certainly had mine.

With all of that being said, I must admit that when I heard of her grandson (the son of one of her daughters with whom I had spent alot of time with) passing away last month, I couldn't quite believe it. It was shocking and sad and I'm not even sure that anyone knew what to say or do. How do you comfort an inconsolable mother? Or aunt? Or family? The answer is, you don't.

There is no consoling in a moment like this. There is only you being there when they need you and love. There are also tears, screams, questions, and a plethora of other things, but mostly, there is just confusion. Confusion as to why something like this would happen to such a sweet kid, especially at the young age of nineteen. Confusion as to what you say to his family. Confusion on how there are horrible people in this world and yet, this kid isn't anymore.

What happened or why or how doesn't matter. All there is left to do in a situation like this is to try and move forward and remembering all of the things that made you love them in the first place. It's taken well over a month for me to even wrap my head around it and I'm still not completely sure that I believe it.

But to his family I say:

"I am so very sorry to hear about the loss of Kendall. He was such an amazing kid and I know how much his family loved him. Some of my fondest memories are when I got to take care of his grandmother and befriend his family. And Kendall was a big part of that. My heart goes out to his family."