Hailey Elizabeth Payton Draves

The number one thing she wanted to do on that trip was to kiss a dolphin and she got to! We also got to do an underwater walk and we swam with stingrays. One of Hailey's most favorite days.

Also during that trip, Hailey was missing her friends. (It was right before she turned 18 so friends were super important to her, like family). She could not WAIT to give her best friend a hug when we got home. As soon as we got home (it was late at night), she went straight to her friend's house to give her a big Hailey hug. One of the things that I miss the most, is her hugs. I can't tell you what it was about it that made it so special, but it was. If you didn't hug Hailey back the way she wanted, she would say, "Hug me like you mean it!" I once saw a medium and she said that Hailey told her to give my mama a really good hug. The medium said Hailey said that she always gave the best hugs, which is so true.

The first time we went to Disney World, it was just Hailey and I. It became our most favorite place. We got to go 3 times together. She wanted to go with just me again but we didn't get to make that happen. My favorite thing was to see how happy she was. It was February, cold and I was pregnant. She was so understanding of the fact that I was so tired but also trying to push through so that she would have an amazing time. We went to the beach in clearwater. Hailey got into the water with no problem even though it was freezing. (my brave girl) She swam so far out. I am so grateful that she didn't get caught in a rip tide. (back then, it wasn't known about as much as it is now) Looking back, that could have been scary.

I don't remember how old Hailey was when we took a little trip to Chicago. The first time was when she was little and it was just her and I and then the second time was when she was older and we went as a family. The time we went just her and I, we took a bus tour around the city on a double decker bus. We had a great time and we said that someday we would come back to see the fountain. We never did make it to see the fountain. The second time, I am not sure how we all survived since we used the city bus and it was scary. While we were walking to a museum, Hailey picked up a rock cuz it was pretty, but it turned out that it was bird poop!!! lol We had a great time laughing at that one. Later she found a sign that was broken and on the ground, she said mom, take a picture of me to make it look like I did this because I was mad! My photography skills are not that great (Hailey would say and has said that) so I don't think I captured exactly what she wanted, but it’s ok.

Hailey had an amazing and contagious laugh. It started from when she was little, on. (as evidenced by the videos on this page) I cherish those videos. Many videos and pictures got lost due to a computer virus and also when Hailey broke her phone. But I digress. Every time her laugh was heard, everyone else had no other choice but to laugh. Hailey loved to make others laugh. I fully believe that if she was here today, she would be a TikTok star.

One night Hailey and her friend decided to approach people at Walmart and other stores, to ask them what the people thought their names were. Hailey’s number one response was Amanda. So Hailey requested to be called Amanda from then on. When we started a scholarship in remembrance of Hailey, we weren’t allowed to use her name. So we called it Amanda’s Legacy Tree. Where did the tree part come from? Did I forget to mention Hailey loved trees? She didn’t “know why, but” she “fucking loved trees”.

Hailey was an empath, which had to be a burden at times. She always put everyone else first. She would drop everything in order to help a friend. And at times sacrificed sleep in order to help her friends or family with whatever they needed.

Hailey worked at a group home after she graduated high school. I had the privilege to meet up with her and one of her residents a few times. I was in aww of her. She took amazing care of the resident. She was just so kind and gentle. I was so proud of the woman she was becoming.

Before Hailey moved out on her own, she decided to get a pit bull friend named Bolt. Hailey loved Bolt and when she passed, he didn’t know what to do . He lost his person. We had to put him down, he just didn’t trust other dogs after being attacked at the dog park and he didn’t trust people anymore. I pray that they found each other in Heaven.

On July 23, 2017 the sadness that Hailey carried just took over and she couldn’t fight it anymore. She is with one of her most favorite people, Shelly. They will forever be side by side. I know Hailey is at peace, but it is not easy to carry on without her. She is no longer burdened with sadness or hurt and always trying to cover all of it.

Hailey has always been a fan of unicorns, way before they were cool. Her saying was “always be yourself, unless you can be a unicorn, be that magical beast”. Her own spin on the famous saying. Hailey was a unicorn. We are all blessed to have known her, unicorns only show themselves to those that are worthy.