SABRINA SEELIG

Sabrina. When I think of Sabrina I see her in some fabulous 30’s dress, belted with ankle socks and the perfectly imperfect factory -worker girls shoes. Shins bruised into adulthood, hair unkempt, in need of a scrub, a true bohemian plucked from time and given as a gift for those who could only dream of being such. How is it that at the age of 22 she was able to live a bigger and fuller life than those who get a full term to try?

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To think of all she could have done with just a bit more time; too painful, too selfish a thought of such a spirit. It is a comfort to know that Bean had found a community of people she felt akin to, feeling at home with her peers.

Raised by parents undaunted by challenge, a family united in their Viking spirit. I remember visits to Elkins Park when Ashley and Sabrina were small and wilder than most. Being tossed out to the Great Room in their coats to “run it off” then further away into the dark yard where they would disappear into a world of fantasy and game, returning hours later pink cheeked and worn out. Two sisters, so similar and so different. My heart brakes further in the loss of that bond and respect they grew to have of each other. A connectedness suspended.

Summers in Maine we would watch as Sabrina produced plays, photographed the Lobster Parade and opened Lulu’s Ice Cream. She was always committed to what she did, never a half attempt. Her devotion to literature once lead her to taping herself reading the Hobbit for a boy she babysat. At the time I think she was no older than 15. Amazing.

In France at Dot’s wedding I watched as she dazzled and seduced a boy who had fallen under her spell. I will never forget how beautiful she was walking backwards up the cobbled road of this ancient French town, unwinding her scarf, cheeks pink, with a sly grin. An image plucked from a movie yet so absolutely Sabrina.

And now? Where do we go from here? I think about Bean and feel not just gifted, but honored to have known her and watched her grow-up. Some believe that young people are taken from this life because they are needed, that they can help the future to be a better place. If this is so then I am reassured thinking that Sabrina is hard at work. The future has just gained a Viking Warrior Angle with bruised shins and dirty feet. I have learned an invaluable lesson by Sabrina’s untimely death, one that is perhaps cliché when not truly understood. Life is precious and fleeting. I hold my children a bit tighter and believe in that leap of faith as they set out into the world.

My deepest love goes out to the Viking Warriors – Sherrie, Warren and Ashley.