Thank you for coming.  We gather here today to remember a wonderful little girl named Haley.  Haley was truly one of a kind.  As far as we know, she was the only child in the US, if not the world, that was born with both Turner’s syndrome and infantile myofibromatosis.

We called her Haley’s comet because when she was born, she shot out so fast she left skid marks and the doctor didn’t have time to put on her gloves before catching her.

She could never stay in one place for very long and always had this need for speed. I remember times when I would pull her in a wagon or sled or push her in a stroller or on a swing and she would always laugh and say, ”Faster, faster!” or “Run daddy run!”  When we walked her up to school every day she would run ahead and say, “Last one there is a rotten egg!”

Unfortunately, she could not stay with us for very long either.

My wife reminded me of something that Haley would tell us when we would want her to slow down.  Haley would say, “But I have no Time!” We never knew where she had heard this expression, and were surprised to hear this from a seven year old.  Looking back on it now, it is almost as if she knew what was to happen and was trying to get as much as she could out of life before she had to go.

Although she lived for only seven years, she lived those years to their fullest.  She accomplished so much, and touched so many lives; it is though she had lived for seventy.

I tried to put together a list of things Haley had accomplished over the last year or so.

She:

Was allowed to eat with the big kids in the lunchroom, which made her feel so grown up
Was able to see the circus for the first time and had her first bus ride, which it think she liked better than the circus. During intermission she got to ride on an elephant
Graduated from Kindergarten and was asked to lead the audience in saying the pledge of allegiance at the end of the ceremony.
Received the Leatrice Johnson Reading Award for her excellent reading skills
Went on her first ‘road trip’ which was to Florida to visit her relatives where she swam in the Atlantic Ocean (I think that’s when she started with “Are we there yet?” and “How do you get to…?”)
(Even during her last car trip to the hospital she asked, “How do you get to St. John’s?”)
Attended the 2001 Summer Youth Tech Camp at Wayne State
Took at trip to California to see her first wedding and visited Disneyland and swam in the Pacific Ocean
We would take her and her sister Emily to the pool at Wayne State’s Fitness Center and she finally got brave enough to slide down the water slide all by her self
Last September, she started first grade
In first grade she leaned how to write, she loved writing her name everywhere (on the walls of our house with crayon or marker and on the side of our dirty van with her finger)
She made the honor roll on her first quarter report card. (looked in the mirror and said: go me, I’m on the honor roll!)
After 9/11, when President Bush asked all schools to recite the pledge of allegiance at the same time, she was chosen as the female representative at Oakman to recite it over the loudspeaker
Wrote her first letter to Santa
Attended her first dance class which she looked forward to every Saturday morning
Saw the new polar bear exhibit at the Detroit Zoo and watched the polar bears dance over her head
Grew to be 42 inches tall

One of her favorite cartoons was the Power puff girls.  There are three: Blossom, the commander and leader, Buttercup the toughest fighter and Bubbles the joy and laughter.  Haley’s favorite was Bubbles.  Bubbles wore a blue dress and Haley’s favorite color was blue. Haley said she had blond hair like bubbles and she loved to color like Bubbles.  Bubbles could also speak Spanish.  I remember when I would work with her on her addition homework and we would start a problem and she would start counting in Spanish “Uno, dos, tres...” and I would tell her, “No Haley, we need to do it in English.”

To me Haley was truly Bubbles – she was my joy and laughter.

When we would watch a tv show Haley would ask, “Who is your favorite character”.  Whenever we saw a movie, Haley would always ask afterwards “What was your favorite part of the movie?”

So I asked myself, what was my favorite part about Haley?

There were so many things to choose from:

Her large eyes and big smile that brighten up a room
Her wild curly hair that she hated to have washed and brushed
Her joy of music and how she loved to sing, dance, and drum
Her never-ending energy
Her incurable curiosity about the world and always asking questions
The fact that she was anyone’s and everyone’s best friend
Her bravery – never complained about going to the doctor or hospital or getting x-rays or shots.
Her love of computers and surfing the internet.(Assuming everything had a web site and she was usually right!)
Her steel-trap memory (never forgetting the words to a song even a made up one)
That was she could frustrate you and then say, “I’m sorry” so you couldn’t be mad at her
Her love of “Midnight snacks” which usually were a cheese sandwich with mayo and no crust and a cup of apple juice.
They way she would curl up next to me every night in bed

But my favorite part about Haley was her Hugs.  She would not just hug you with her arms, she would hug you with her whole body.  She would run up to you with the biggest smile on her face, jump into your arms, and wrap both her arms and legs around you.  These hugs would make your whole day.  Sometimes I would barely make it out of the car after I came home from work and Haley would burst out of the house and down the steps to hug me.  Or if I had to pick her up from school, once she saw me she would come tearing down the sidewalk and leap into my arms.

So whenever you need a little joy and laughter, close your eyes and remember your favorite part about Haley. Whether it’s her hair or her hugs, her enthusiasm or energy.
And she will make your whole day.

Thank you.