Definitely not dog related, but I'm a little melancholy today.... not the date, but the "day" if you will, is making me a little low....
8 years ago... on the day before Thanksgiving... my sister, Tanya, was killed in a car accident. The date was 11/25/98, but it was the day before Thanksgiving that year.
I was out doing some shopping, and it was before I had a cell phone. My boyfriend at the time had left to be with his family for Thanksgiving (what a guy huh) and I was home in San Jose, CA alone. I got back and there was a voicemail from my dad.
"Trace, pick up the phone" he says....
"Trace? Pick up". Over and over he says this.
"Trace, there's been an emergency.... It's Tanya Trace...."
then a big pause...
"Trace, Tanya died, call home."
Imagine me, 22 years old and alone for Thanksgiving and getting THIS message on my answering machine about my best friend and sister. I don't remember a lot after that, except not being able to get through to my parents in Virginia. I finally gave up and went up stairs to the neighbor (mgr of the apt complex) and asked for her help in dialing my parents number.
I remember my brother, JR, answered the phone. I remember asking him "what the hell is going on?" and he said "you really should talk to mom and dad." I screamed at him "is this a joke?!" and he said "no, here's dad".
Dad proceeded to tell me that Tanya had died that night in a single car accident... something about going into a ditch and getting ejected from the car. Brandon was fine, as was Bruce, but Tanya died at the scene. They were going up to Pennsylvania to ID her, but they wanted to make sure I knew. "Do you want to come up and be with the family?" Dad asks... "OF COURSE I DO" I reply.
I remember going to Thanksgiving dinner with a friend of my boyfriends... at his family's house. I don't remember anything about it, except making flight arrangements for the following day. I remember Dad asking me if I wanted to see her. "of course" I replied, to which he said "She doesn't look like herself" and I said "I don't care, she's my sister."
I flew out the day after Thanksgiving and saw the family I hadn't seen in 5 years. It was an incredibly difficult time for all of us....
But the "day before Thanksgiving" will forever be marred by the events of 11/25/98 for me....
