Memories Of A Sweet Girl.

Hser Nay Moo.

I don't even know how to begin to express my feelings about this darling girl and this devastating situation.

Blogging about this seems sensational. I don't want to reduce her story to some superficial format. I want to be careful. I don't want to get lost in the emotional surge (does this make sense?). And yet, to eventually make some other entry without acknowledging her doesn't seem right either-

I won't recap the story (Click here for current updates).

I will say I am amazed by my neighbors & friends who devoted every bit of their time, talents, sacrificing their sleep, to helping find her. Observing such an outpouring of goodness and humanity, I was continually filled with gratitude. A tragedy like this (so close to home) has not left me more worried than I was before about the area I live in. Strangely, I feel more secure knowing that, in this sometimes very dark and foreboding world, I'm a stones throw away from unyielding angelic devotion.

My son is waiting upstairs to be comforted (again). He can't sleep. He's feeling afraid and confused. He's sad to have lost his friend. I have no words of comfort. All I can say is that there are things in life that are so, so sad. And there's just nothing good to say about it.

But there is a lot of good to say about Hser Nay Moo and her family. And this was my original intention for the content of this entry.

We didn't know her as well as we would have liked, but here are a few memories: (Eddie helped me a little, since he knew her best).

Hser Nay Moo

• She (along with the rest of her family) would come to our house to play for a bit before going to the English classes at the church down the street. The kids had fun together, even though they couldn't understand each other. She was good at getting the girls together to invent games to play.
• She always, always smiled.
  
• Shy as she was, she courageously read a scripture in primary, with the help of a service missionary, even though she couldn't speak or read fluently. We (the adults) were particularly pleased and proud of her.
  
• She was very quiet and helpful in primary. Eddie says she was so kind to everyone.
• We often walked home from church together, and she befriended Ada. Her father is fond of my boys and likes to chat with and tease them (especially Jackie).
• I remember doing the twist with her and two other little girls at a church dance a few weeks ago. We were in a circle. They were twisting and giggling and adorable.
  

Mostly, I will never forget that smile.

There is a heavy blanket of grief covering this neighborhood. I'm not going to try to make sense of it. I just hope to be helpful. For now, I need to go tuck Eddie into bed and give all my children one more kiss.