The bad news never seems to stop

It seems like there's something terrible happening around here more and more frequently. Not long ago there was a house fire that killed 6 kids and 1 adult. Then just last night one teen was killed and another badly injured in a car accident. The two girls not only went to school together, but actually knew each other. I know the parents of both girls and I can't possibly imagine what they must be going through right now. For the girl who was killed, today would have been her 17th birthday. Her friends in school said that she was all excited about her birthday and that they had bought her a princess crown / tierra with "birthday girl" on it. I went to school with her dad and do business with him on a very regular basis. He's a great guy and I feel awful for him and his wife.

The other girl was flown to the nearest children's hospital and I've heard that she's in pretty bad condition. My wife and I have actually had small tiffs here and there with her parents in the past, but now we're praying for them and their daughter, while wishing there were something more we could do for them. Something like this puts small disagreements in perspective very quickly.

I hope these first few months aren't a sign of how this year is going to go around here