I found out this morning that an old friend of mine died just a couple of days before Christmas. Carianna “Annie” May Dolan and I met in 2008 when we were both counselors in training at Phantom Lake YMCA Camp.
It’s been years since we really talked but we stayed friends on social media and she was active there. I was superficially in tune with her life and watched her chronicle her battle against lupus and inspire others in her fight against autoimmune diseases.
On December 19th she tested positive for Covid. On December 23rd she passed away. She was my age, 28, and is leaving behind a young son. (her obituary)
It is so terrible and sad. I am angry all over again, a hundred times over, at how Covid is tearing apart people’s lives and at all the people who have let it get this far.
It won’t bring Annie back.
I remember laughing with her as we walked around camp, doing fall chores to close up the season. I remember how we talked about the real stuff in the basement of the dining hall, sitting on bunks we’d helped carry in from the cabins. I remember her smile. I remember she made me feel included and happy to be there at a time when I was painfully in my own head and thought I was bad at making friends.
I wish you peace, Annie. Thank you for being a bright part of my life all those years ago.
With Love,
Natalie