Holland

MaKayla Holland

Katie Ellison

English 1113 11:30

05 September 2018

Have You Ever Taken Anything for Granted?

Do we take life for granted sometimes? I never asked myself this question until the night

of October 22, 2017. The day started out as just a typical day in the small town of Talihina,

Oklahoma. For the friends and family, their whole world turned upside down that night. Most

people take life for granted every day and don’t think that anything bad could ever happen to a

loved one. After that night I never take anything in life for granted.

As the day started out, I woke up thinking it would be like any other Sunday for me.

I would go to church that morning, eat lunch with my family, and go to work that night. Little

did I know my whole outlook of life would change later that evening. Overall I was having a

pretty good day. I worked at the “The Rock House,” a restaurant on the outside of town. It was

super busy that night and the phone was ringing like crazy. I had all my tables caught up, and the

phone was ringing again. There was no one else in there to answer it besides me. I saw it was my

father’s phone number. Which I thought was weird that he was calling my work phone. I

answered as if I would any other phone call. When he realized it was me, he was acting like

something was wrong. When I asked he didn’t say anything except “I need to talk to Sam." I

took the phone to my boss, Sam. I was still very concerned about what was going on and why

my dad was acting so weird. I overheard some of the phone call and Sam telling my dad that I
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was in good hands and he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. At that point, I was scared to

death.

I begged and begged my boss to tell me what was going on and if everything was okay.

When he also started acting funny, that’s when I knew something was wrong. I questioned

anything that I thought might have happened. I saw headlights pull up and we were almost

closed. I was dreading having to be there any longer than normal and my exhausted co-workers

had the same feeling. When I realized it was my dad in the parking lot, my heart sank. All these

bad thoughts and feelings were going through my head. I went outside, and my dad told me that

my best friend’s mom, Raylyn, just passed away while she was driving home from work 15

hours away. At that point, I didn’t have any words. I broke down crying outside and sat down

because I couldn’t catch my breath. So many questions were going through my mind. What do

you do when you find out you will never see or talk to a lady that was like another mother to you

ever again? At that point, I had nothing at all to say. I left work and went straight to my best

friend, Leah.

When I got out to her house, it was all still feeling like a huge nightmare that I would

wake up from and everything would be back to normal. My heart hurt so bad even thinking about

it. I could never imagine a day in this life without my mom by my side. I got to the house, and I

still didn’t know how to react. A mother, wife, and a dear friend passed away too soon. She had

two kids, a husband, and many friends and family that loved her dearly. No one knew how to

cope with what was happening or to believe it was happening. I stayed with Leah every night

after the wreck occurred. I couldn’t do or say anything to make it better or ease the pain. The

week went on, and it still didn’t hit any of us as hard as it did when we walked into the funeral.

The funeral was being held at Whitesboro gym in Whitesboro, Oklahoma. It was the most
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heartbreaking thing any of us had ever been through or dealt with. We all lost someone who

meant a lot to everyone. She would make us smile on days all we wanted to do was cry, we rode

horses together every day, and she pushed me to be the best I could be. I could go on and on

about the things she did for people she was around to impact their life. We were both so

competitive it sucked barrel racing against each other because neither of us liked to lose. I didn’t

know how I was going to live without her and I wasn’t her kid by blood even though she never

failed to make me feel as if I was.

We had to go on with our lives even though we didn’t know how. For months it felt

like there was always so many people at her house. Bringing food or just dropping by to say hi

and check on everyone. We all had a hole in our hearts that would never be filled. Living in a

small town isn’t always the best thing in the world but when tragedy happens everyone comes

together as one. Everyone tried to do stuff to get the kids mind off of the fact that they just lost

their mom. None of us ever imagined having to live without her. It is terrifying to think about

something like this happening to someone you love.

With all the great memories shared and the conversations had about a dear friend, it made

us all realize how precious life truly is. At any point in time, anything could be taken from you.

Don’t ever take anything or anyone for granted because you never know if it will be the last time

getting to see or talk to them again. In less than two months it will be a year since the accident

happened. Even though we know she is in a better place now and watching over us. As humans

we will always have the selfish side of us wishing she was here. She will not get to be there

when her kid's graduate or her daughter walks down the aisle. She won’t see her son play another

basketball game or her husband rope again. Raylyn will have a special place in everyone's heart

that she talked to. She is gone but never forgotten.

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