Scott Kamps
My life changed in ways I had no idea it could on April 18, 2022.
That’s the day Shalimar Daniels and her infectious laughter moved into the Kamps’ home.
How do you sum up any life in a few words, let alone a life lived to the fullest like Shalimar’s? Although she only had 18 years on this earth, she danced through life with abandon – as anyone who met her can attest.
Shalimar loved life. She loved people; she never met a stranger. And when she met you; if she got your ear, she shared everything with you – she didn’t hold anything back! She wasn’t reserved in ways we tend to consider proper and while that meant sometimes she shared awkward things, it also meant that you felt like you really knew Shalimar – even if you just met her in the waiting room! That’s how she was with us from the day she became part of our family; she came with a hand-drawn picture of her new family – she was so excited to have a sister to share a room with, and four brothers! Although, it took a few days for her to learn their names.
I remember that my wife and I had concerns she had no boundaries, because she called us mom and dad from that very day. But we didn’t know Shalimar yet; that’s just who she was. She had no problem having a new mom and dad, and loving us like parents, while at the same time still loving (in her words) her “real mom and dad.”
And she loved her “real” family very much. We heard story after story – many exaggerated, for sure – of fishing, hunting and camping with her mom, dad and sisters. Her father’s death in 2019 was unquestionably one of the most difficult life experiences she had – she loved her daddy so much.
The stories Shalimar told were repeated over and over, both to us who were with her, and to every person she met. If you met her, you heard about her good friend, Cuttler Adams; she told nearly every nurse in the hospital about “her cousin, No. 5, who plays football for Yale.” I’m not sure they are cousins, but Cuttler’s last name is the same as her daddy’s name, so that’s related enough! She talked with anyone and everyone about boys, about various health issues she had, about boys, about whatever exciting thing was happening in her life, that she was “trusting Christ now,” and of course … more about boys. She loved her friends at Robbinsville High School, especially those she sat with at lunch – that and PE were always what she talked about after school when we asked her how her day was. Being named grand marshal for the homecoming parade and crowning Miss Black Knight in front of the whole football stadium was a highlight of her life. She talked multiple times every day for weeks about the dress Katrina and Macey were going to take her to get. Leading the parade with Caden Lail also meant a lot to her.
Shalimar lived life to the fullest, living in the moment; assuming everyone she met loved her, she shared her life with them. She seized the day by loving others; and that’s why everyone who met her felt like they knew her well and loved her back. That’s also why she’s so missed by so many people now and why our community is hurting so badly.
God’s promises and Christ’s defeat of death can bring us much comfort (thankfully), but they don’t magically take away the pain. C.S. Lewis’s words communicate how I feel now: “The act of living is different all through. Her absence is like the sky, spread all over everything.”
We miss you, Shally.
Scott Kamps writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, thestableguy@frontier.com.