7/13: Remembering a great man

July 13th was the first anniversary of the death of Michael Pritiken. Mike is the father of one of my best friend's Mollie. Mike was definitely a guy the world misses. He had a heart for children and books. Although I only met Mike a few times he was someone that stuck with you. Mollie is loud, her mom is loud, Mike..not so much. He just sat back and enjoyed the show. And although I only met him a few times, we were always hearing funny stories of him from Mollie. His first date with Mollie's mom, his awesome advice ("fart on the first date, if he's not grossed out, he's worth your time"), and his accidental dirty words for Scrabble. And out of all Mollie's friends..Mike and I had a connection. Mike grew up in Boise and was a graduate of Borah High School. We talked about the building and the teachers. I told him of the new additions of the auditorium and the new gym. It was cool how I went to Cheney, met my now best friend and then met her dad...a fellow Lion. Needless to say, it was pretty cool. Mike was going to accompany Mollie to my wedding. He was looking forward to the drive back to his hometown and was going to show Mollie Borah. Unfortunately he did not make it.
July 13th, Mike was killed by a drunk driver at 6 in the morning on his commute to work in CDA. The day before I got a text from Mollie. Her bloodhound Daisy had eaten an entire bottle of ibuprofen and she was in the vet's office all day hoping and praying that her dog would be ok. She spent the entire day with her dad. The weekend before she got to dance with her dad at a wedding. I thought of these as I thought of my friend 2 hours away alone at home (her mom and brother were on a mission trip in Venezuela) and that she got to have some precious time with her dad before he died.
Mollie is the strongest person I know. You will not meet a stronger person. She was made to be strong. She was even born without tear ducts. Her strength this year has been incredible. She's had the strength to be strong for her family, to cry when she needed, to be frustrated with life, to laugh, to change, and to be herself. Mollie has changed my life and this past year has brought all us girls closer.
On Tuesday Mollie asked me to go with her to put flowers on the cross on the highway where her father died. While most people may think it was somber and tear-filled..you don't know Mollie. We told crude jokes, gossiped, talked about celebrities and on the way back we cheered ourselves up by singing Disney songs and planning Mollie's Disney-themed wedding. It was good to be there with Mollie doing something so surreal to both of us. Mollie said it right "I can't believe it's been a year it feels like just 2 months". This is probably the picture that will stick with me for awhile.
The world misses you Mike! Thanks for giving me Mollie, I can't wait to see you in Heaven and thank you with a proper hug :)