Christina, Chrystina

So I had this best friend in middle school, and her name was Christina. We were insepreable from 6th grade to 10th. She had the best outlook on life and was truely fun to be around. About 10th grade we had a difference of opinions on moral values, and had a falling out. We worked at the same fast food joint, but didn't hardly speak there, much less at school. It was a tense, uncomfortable situation that pretty much left me feeling almost hollow. Then for some reason, the summer after our junior year, she decided to be friendly again. Christina always said the craziest things, like " Girl I was so nervous I was sweating like a whore in church" and really insane stuff, like the fact she didn't see a future for herself. She was convinced she would die before she was 20.
 She was so funny, beautiful and always the center of attention. I was so happy to be hanging out with her again. We spent a whole saturday at a waterpark together laughing and having a great time. Then we went to work and it was just like the good old days. That saturday, June 4th, 2004, was the last time I saw my best friend. She had plans to drive down to the gulf coast early the next week to have some car repairs done. She never made it home. She and her mother were both killed in a car accident on their way home from the coast. Funny how fate treats us, huh?
Two years later I was pregnant with my first daughter. What to name this child? I racked my brain of all the family names I liked, all the friends names I liked, I bought the baby name books, everything. But my heart knew. Somewhere deep inside I could not let go of the name Chrystina Grace. Perfect. When she was born I looked in her eyes, and they agreed. Chrystina Grace it was. As my beautiful daughter grows, I can tell I made the right decision. She says the funniest things, sings every song she knows at the top of her lungs, she has deep green eyes you could get lost in (as did my dear friend), and she has a happy, upbeat, light hearted attitude that makes you smile. I hope she goes through life loving her name and loving what it means to me. Today's truth: Love loudly, today may be the last tomorrow.