I think it is pretty obvious how special Kelsey was. Even after a full year, I am still trying to make sense of what happened and this is not the first time that I’ve lost someone that I loved. I can’t imagine what her family and her all friends feel. It doesn’t make sense and it certainly isn’t fair. It’s no one’s fault, not even Kelsey’s. It’s simply a tragic accident. There is no answer to the question WHY?
However, I believe with all my heart that Kelsey is ok, that she wants us to know that she is ok. I’ve seen Facebook posts to Kelsey, saying they hoped she had a great birthday. And that made me think, maybe God really needed her up in Heaven. I mean let’s face it, she had a lot of qualities that I would imagine would be very beneficial in heaven.
Starting with her energy, which was endless. She practically bounced off the walls. She didn’t walk into our house, as much as bounded in. She would quickly say hello and then run upstairs to Nicole’s room. 10 minutes later, they’d be down looking to see if we had anything good to eat. All we would see is their backs in our pantry door. We started stocking chocolate milk and Oreos just for her.
During the summer of 2010, we invited her to spend the first week of our 2 week vacation. Things worked out so well, we told Nicole she could stay for the 2nd week. She vacationed with us again in 2011. She was so easy going. She never complained how quiet our vacations were. She LOVED LOVED the beach. I tried to warn her that she would have to unpack the car since Mr. Monk and Mike were away on a lacrosse tournament. She held up your arms and said, don’t worry Mrs. Monk, I am really strong. And 2 years in a row, we packed and unpacked that car and carried everything up 2 flights of steps.
She was a great social planner. School breaks, birthday parties, the beach, Halloween, road trips to Hershey park, Dutch Springs, and dances and proms – she liked to plan all the details. What to wear was always a big deal. I had the pleasure of going on a couple shopping trips with her and her mom, Lori. Oh boy, some of the dresses that got tried on!
She was good with little kids and adults. I’ve seen her with my niece’s twin babies at the beach and I’ve heard lots of stories of how she easily talked with adults and was genuinely concerned about their welfare. Kelsey was never afraid to talk to anybody. She would just as easily talk to Mike or Brian, or any of their friends. At an OJR football game, she would say hi to Brian every time he passed by. His friends wondered who was the older girl that kept saying hi to him. That was pretty cool.
Her big smile and sparkling eyes were with her wherever she went. She had a great smile, because she was obsessed with her teeth. And she didn’t let anybody get her down. She would get so excited about everything. The simplest things, she was so happy to be involved. She loved being busy. Yes, she was a great student and a great soccer player. But that is not the part of her life that I was heavily involved in. What I got to see, day in and day out, was that she was a great friend to my daughter. She was fun. She was dependable. She was reliable. She was trustworthy. I saw what Nicole saw in her. She was a beautiful young woman with her entire future in front of her.
Heaven doesn’t seem far away anymore. Rest in peace Kelsey. We love you and will never forget you. Forever Strong.
Read by Lisa Monk During the dedication ceremony for Kelsey's Bridge
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