This Thursday is March 3rd. For those of you who know me, know that it’s not just the eve of my birthday but it is the day that I lost one of my closest friends. March 3rd 2008 was supposed to be a happy day because it was the last day I would be 20! While I was a student at Texas A&M University I had the opportunity of working at the University Plus Frame Shop; a small frame shop housed in the basement of the Memorial Student Center on the A&M campus. We did custom framing of all kinds, but mostly diplomas. We were a very tight knit group and for those of you that always wanted to work at frame shop but never got in will hopefully understand that we didn’t let just anybody in the group. The group consisted of about 8 of us and we all worked at different times but tried to schedule at least an hour each week where we were all in the shop together. The Ye Olde Frame Shoppe was the alias we went under or maybe just what we called our second home and others thought we were weird. Becca, Phil, Sean, Sarah, Megan, Ashley, Lauren, and myself were quite the group. We each brought our own dynamic to this circle of working students. Phil was the outdoorsmans that was so incredibly interesting and always a blast to not do work with, Becca was the one you could always count on for a laugh and to give helpful advice, Sean (one of my greatest friends) was always a listening ear and amazing person to create inside jokes with, Sarah was so great at keeping us on track and great to be around, Ashley was the friend that you could cut loose with and never have a dull moment, Lauren was the heartbeat of our group and truly amazing, then there was myself.
Monday, March 3, 2008 me and a few others opened up the frame shop first thing just as we always did. We put the money in the cash register, turned on the heat press, and logged into the computer. It didn’t take long for us to notice that one member had not arrived as she usually does. I had not thought too much of this as I had just talked to her the night before when she asked me what kind of cupcakes I wanted her to bring for my birthday (and I of course responded funfetti). So it was to my surprise when our manager, Jim Lukeman, walked down to the frame shop with a strange look on his face. He gathered all of us together and let us know that Lauren was in a car accident on her way back to College Station from her hometown of Tyler, Texas. He didn’t have many details just that she was in the accident and taken to the hospital.
The week prior to this one, Lauren was so excited about going home to see her parents and her younger sister, Sally, that weekend. She hadn’t been home since Christmas break and was very excited to finally get to go home! I knew she was planning on driving in to College Station Monday morning but wasn’t concerned for her safety because Lauren was pretty much Superwoman! Lauren would drag me out of bed at 5:00 am to work out with her at the Student Recreation Center. I can’t even tell you how many times Lauren came to work in the morning with about 10 things already crossed off her “to do” list and I had managed to crawl out of bed and make to campus just in time. She was amazing and never in a million years would I have thought that something bad could happen to her.
As the day went on I went to class and continued to return to the frame shop for updates. By closing time that day Jim informed me that Lauren wasn’t doing too good but still had no concrete information. A memory that will forever be engraved into my memory was a phone call that Jim gave me a little after 6:00 pm that day. I was walking to my car in the parking lot next to Kyle Field. I made that walk a million times, but this particular one will never leave me. I answered the phone and Jim informed me that Lauren had been put on life support and the doctors were saying that it was the only thing keeping her alive. Her parents had decided to remove life support and that she didn’t have much longer. I was speechless. I managed to get out a thank you to Jim for calling me and I hung up the phone. I sat down on the bench and just cried.
Late that evening I was at my parents house when I received another call from Jim where he let me know that she was gone. I wish I could say I handled it well but I’m so thankful I was with my mother and father because I reacted the way you would imagine someone would react when they find out that their friend had been taken out of this world. My mother held me and let me cry and mourn my friend.
Even now, thinking about that day (and writing this post) is extremely hard for me. Lauren was one of a kind and truly a person that God put on this planet to make it a better place. She was a witness for His message and portrayed a selflessness that many will never understand. With the 3rd anniversary of losing my friend approaching, I find myself going back to the memories I have with Lauren. From her energetic “hey darlin’” when I would walk into the shop to our therapy sessions we had with one another; I miss all these things about her. She was a great Aggie, great person and great friend. I miss her everyday and I hope that each person who had the opportunity to know Lauren never forget her and never take for granted the times the memories they shared.
This is one is for you darlin’!
Lauren Elizabeth Lewis
3.8.1987—3.3.2008
