I’m not easily rattled and that is probably an understatement. In the early 1980’s I shuttled between Baton Rouge, LA and Tallahassee, Fl, a straight 8 hour drive and campaign consulting offices in both places. My partner in Fl hired a young woman, Suzi Suarez, right out of FSU. She and I became fast friends. Hayden’s dad and I married first, the next year she and Pat married. We went through each others pregnancies together. Katy, born 18 months before Hayden was born in 1991 and Austin, 18 months after. When I divorced Hayden’s dad Hayden and I moved to a condo in Naples, We spent almost every weekend in Sarasota with the Shea’s. Pat took the boys to do climbing, biking and camping and the three girls went to chick flicks. Every single hurricane which hit south Florida Hayden and I packed up and headed to the Shea’s house to use their generator, pop popcorn and ride it out. The deal has been, in writing, with both of my husbands, that Suzi would raise my children should anything happen to us.

Monday, I learn, Austin, apparently, had had two small seizures, out of the blue, recently, the third one on Monday killed him. Reason unknown. I am just beyond grief at the senselessness of this and the disbelief that three children virtually raised together that two could be gone.