Have you ever been so excited about a pair of shoes you absolutely beam from the inside out? Perhaps they are the most comfortable, the newest trend, a super expensive pair you have been saving up for. Well for Sarae, shoes were "A-MAaaaaZING!!" and we are not talking about fashion, Sarae loved a good pair of comfortable shoes, no tickles in the toes, and the more they were worn...the better they were. She did not need to get new shoes every year before the start of school - if hers still fit from last year, those would be the ones she chose.
Until...she was introduced to Converse, oh boy world look out...she loved herself a good pair of Converse! A quick side note about Sarae; she was NOT a spender of her hard-earned money. She was a saver and kept things until they simply wore out. However, when she did decide to spend her money on something she went all in! A few years back Sarae found that you could design your own pair of Converse shoes and have them mailed to your house. To say she was excited was a huge understatement - she spent days designing just the right pair. She worked tirelessly on them and we were not allowed to peak-she wanted to see our expression when they were "on foot". Too cute!
So she began; carefully choosing the two colors and where to place each cone and then onto personalization. As her creation was complete online she placed her order. She knew that they were fast at work preparing the shoes that she had designed. She also knew that this took time, yet every day would check her email to see the progress and estimated shipping day. She waited, and waited, and waited - until the day she finally received the email notice that the shoes had arrived!! We stopped everything to go home to get the shoes. She simply could not wait a moment longer. When we arrived home she ran to the front door - no box...ran to the garage door - no box...ran to the sliding glass door - no box...checked the mailbox - no box. We were baffled, where were the shoes she waited months for?! We then put our investigator hats on and got right to work. Mail delivery services said they dropped the package behind the black box on the driveway. Problem number one, we have no black box.
Sarae was growing impatient - what does a girl do next in this time of desperation?! She begins to check with neighbors - no box. As the days went by with us investigating and working with the delivery service they confirmed the address one more time from the driver's GPS points of deliveries from that day (so high tech). Mystery solved - they were one number off and the box was delivered to a neighbor several blocks down. As soon as we found this last piece of information we rushed right over and the box was found. Sarae TORE the box open and ripped the packaging to see her long-awaited shoes. She squealed with delight - they were perfect! As she showed them to me she pointed out the back of the shoe. You see, you can place 3 letters – typically one's initials, but Sarae had a better plan. Her vision was to place the letters RAE on each shoe. She explained that when she was walking in the halls at school, her shoes would say “Rae Rae”. Man, she was cleaver – so SaRaeRae got her dream shoes, her RaeRae Converse. She absolutely loved those shoes and it was worth every single penny to her!
This year would be Sarae’s senior year in High School, Class of 2024– she loved school, she loved learning and she loved being with people. It is challenging for us as her peers are gearing up for this fun year filled with “lasts” getting senior pictures taken and making final decisions on future plans. Sarae would have had all the plans and they would have been grand.
This past Sunday one of her best and longest friends got her senior pictures back. She reached out to us and was excited to show us her photo shoot. She drove over to our house after her evening shift, we stopped everything we were doing, to look at her cell phone of all the pictures. They were beautiful, fun, spunky and so priceless to delight in with her. Then...we came to a photo that made me stop in my tracks. This sweet girl, in the prime of her senior year fun, made a point to include Sarae in Senior Pictures that last a lifetime. Ellie had Converse shoes made and designed Rae Rae on the heels – she chose Sarae’s favorite color; green. The first photo was of the shoes and her hands reaching out to them; the tears began to fall.
Then the next photo Ellie was dressed in overalls rolled up and splashing down the beach carrying RaeRae’s shoes. This photo did me in – the tears were in full swing by then. The photo was a perfect expression of their friendship with all the things these girls loved together; the water, overalls, and Converse. Ellie wanted Sarae to continue to share in her life with her, to be present and included. This will be a forever cherished moment for me. The loss of our amazing Sarae has deep ripple effects on so many, we have all lost a funny friend, a listening ear, a caring heart, a cherished daughter, and a sister buddy.
So let us all find the pair of shoes that can remind us of her deep love, great laugh, and brilliant hair – wear them often, and when you do remember the amazing RaeRae.
*Class of 2024 - Pequot Lakes High School
A love story....a true friend. Healing love.