Carrie Shepherd:  

Ciao, After H.S. wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life so I went to a Dental Assistant Vocational School (ended up being the best thing I have ever done) and got married to my H.S. boyfriend. We were married for 2 1/2 years and had a son. Didn't last....Re-married 2 years later to a wonderful man (Steve) who adopted my son, Dean. Steve and I had 2 girls (Stephanie and Stacy) shortly after we married and I have stayed home ever since. Lived happily until Dean, our son was killed by a drunk driver when he was almost 18 and just about to graduate from H.S. Dean was a lot like me during his high school days and loved to have a great time. He made the one mistake that many of us did during our era and got in a car with someone who was way beyond the legal alcohol limit. The jeep crashed out in the desert while off roading (sound familiar, I think we lost a classmate the same way) and just like that my son was gone. It has been 7 1/2 years after the accident and our family has always had great family and friends to help us cope with this awful tragedy. I feel very fortunate that I had a wonderful relationship with Dean and had the privilege to be his mom. I hope after my youngest graduates (this spring) from high school to help other parents cope with the loss of a child. The one thing I learned from this tragedy is that life does continue after a loss and that "Life is to short". As of today, Stephanie my oldest is in c...Expand for more