Remembering Shelley: A teammate and friend reflects on life with, and without, Shelley Glover

Remembering Shelley: A teammate and friend reflects on life with, and without, Shelley GloverOn the morning of May 4, I awoke to a terrific storm outside of my window. Rain was beating against the roof and the trees outside were threatening to come crashing down at any moment. The sky was dark as night and the heavy clouds told of a storm so great, I thought it might never cease.

To my surprise, the storm suddenly stopped. I stood staring sleepily out of the window in my kitchen. My eyes were transfixed on the looming clouds that I thought might open at any moment, sending a tornado straight towards my house. Instead, a rainbow filled the sky, its colors bright against the dark stormy sky. It did not stay long, but it was long enough to help me understand the tragedy that was about to transpire.

During the month of April, Shelley spent her spring break at my home in Virginia. During the trip, she discovered a new song that she played over and over whenever we got in the car. I had never seen her so enthusiastic about a song. In the past, she had always harassed me when I played songs over and over.

“You’re going to hate it in a week. Quit playing it so much,” she would yell at me over the music.

But here she was, wrapped up in this song. It is called “Rainbow” and is the second track on the “Thicker Than Water” soundtrack. It is sung by Jack Johnson and G. Love and it goes like this:

Well I woke this morning, a rainbow filled the sky.

Yes I woke up this morning, a rainbow filled the sky.

Well that was God tellin’ me, everything is gonna be alright.

Well so long good friends, when will we meet again?

I said so long good friends, when will we meet again?

Well I don’t know, I don’t know,

But I guess I’m a’ see you then.

Well I’m gon’ pack my old guitar, move on down the road.

I’m gon’ pack my old guitar, move on down the road.

Where I go, I don’t know,

But I guess I’z gots ta go.

Well I woke up this morning, a rainbow filled the sky.

Well I woke up this morning, a rainbow filled the sky.

Well that was God tellin’ me, everything,

Everything is gonna be alright.

When the phone rang on the morning of May 8, my heart sank and a lump quickly formed in my throat. I choked on the tears before my mom even told me Shelley was gone. She said Shelley was safe now, in a place where she wouldn’t suffer anymore. Shelley had survived twenty-five minutes on her own. She had fought, and fought hard, but it was her time to go, and there will never be an answer to the questions that we are all asking.

Why Shelley? Why this wonderful girl who had made so many people smile? Why this girl who was six days shy of her eighteenth birthday and only a few weeks away from graduating high school? Why this girl who had never hurt a soul, never made an enemy in all of her living days? Why? Why Shelley? Answer me, why?

I asked these questions over and over again in the few hours after I received the terrible news. I felt like somebody had ripped out my heart and I no longer had the energy to go on living. Shelley had been my best friend, and I had never been closer to anyone. We shared a wonderful friendship that was so strong, I considered Shelley a part of me, and a part of who I was. She was my better half. She had kept me smiling whenever times were hard. When I looked at the glass half empty, she helped me to see it half full.

Shelley was also my partner in crime. We used to sneak ice cream sundaes with all the fixings between workouts at the OTC in Colorado Springs. And even though we paid the price later, we never had more fun eating what we knew we shouldn’t. We sat in the corner of the cafeteria and shoved the ice cream into our mouths before anybody could catch us.

Shelley was always thinking of ways to help others, especially animals. She loved animals with all of her heart and whenever there was a television around, she made sure she was in charge of the remote control so that she could watch Animal Planet. She would watch “Emergency Vets” and be so close to tears when she saw an animal in pain. And when “Dogs with Jobs” came on, she “ooh-ed” and “ahh-ed” and could not have been more amazed by what those dogs could do.

So I ask again, why Shelley? But I know that I will never understand why. None of us will. Shelley died doing what she loved and I don’t think she would have had it any other way.

This is a tremendous loss for everyone who knew Shelley. For those who never had the good fortunate of meeting Shelley, I can guarantee that she would have made you laugh. There is no doubt in my mind about that. Even the worst joke made Shelley laugh, and when she laughed, everyone laughed with her because her laugh was contagious.

I am thankful for the memories I have of Shelley. Whenever I find myself struggling with the fact that she is gone, all I have to do is picture her smiling, and I cannot help but laugh through the tears.

As we start out on this new journey without Shelley, we must never forget her. Even though she is no longer here physically, she is still here in spirit. At night, when all is quiet, if you listen hard enough, you can hear her laughter in the soft breeze as it passes.

In time, the wounds will heal. For now, we must keep the Glover family in our thoughts and prayers. We must have the courage to move forward with Shelley in our hearts as a reminder that life is precious, and we must never take it for granted. We must strive to reach outside of ourselves to make another person’s day brighter, as Shelley did so many times.

As for the rainbow I witnessed on the morning of May 4 … that was God telling us, everything is gonna be alright.

Lesley LeMasurier attended Burke Mountain Academy along with Shelley Glover, and was also a teammate on the U.S. Ski Team’s development team.