Grief

Inspiration

April 24, 2013

Lately, I’ve been praying incessantly for calm.  Calm in Elena’s life, in my life and in the lives of those I love.  It sometimes feels like I’m stuck in a whirling tornado of heartache, sadness and frustration.  Not just for me, but for my friends and family that are facing tough life challenges.  I’m ready for a break in all the action, ready to float the lazy river instead of racing down the water slide out of control.  

It’s no coincidence that I stumbled upon a new blog in the last couple weeks.  It’s written by a mom who has faced more turmoil in her life than one could ever imagine.  But she always, always finds the calm.  She calls it “Chasing Rainbows”.  She blogs every day about her life suffering from infertility issues, losing a sweet daughter and most recently, her adorable son Gavin.  I’ve been so drawn to her writing because Gavin’s challenges remind me of Elena.  Her perspective has been such an inspiration to me.  Most the time it’s easy to maintain our positive outlook but every now and then life gets rough and I fall into a funk (cue life is currently rough).  She has reminded me to keep looking in our lives for the blessings that arise out of the hurt.    It’s easy to forget the unexpected miracles we have experienced in the last year and half when faced with our current challenges and an uncertain future.  Underneath all this life stress, my calm is there waiting for me to grasp it.  Sometimes it just takes a little inspiration, a little reminder to dig it out.  

I encourage you to read her eulogy.  Maybe her words will touch you like they did me.  Maybe they will inspire you to take a moment to breathe, find your calm and “chase rainbows” in your life.  

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This is Elena. Our Light. You can see all the goodness and joy that shines from those deep blue eyes. She loves sneezes, yawns, industrial toilet flushes, automatic paper towel dispensers and The Star Spangled Banner. Music is her everything, specifically Moana, Frozen (really all Disney), Queen & Taylor Swift. Nothing makes her squeal quite like swimming, fast boat rides and her two brothers in trouble. In addition to her megawatt smile, Elena reminds us to cherish the smallest of victories, to live in the present, and to daily dwell in a posture of gratitude for every breath and every blessing.  

More About Our Story

I’m Emmalee, an ordinary gal born and raised in the Heartland. Wife to Chad, and Mom to Elena, Calvin & Turner, I spend most my days ridin’ dirty (literally so much trash) in my minivan carting kids to and fro. When I’m not being a Momager, I excel at self-care, cooking gourmet meals my kids won’t eat and deep-diving all the feelings. Most days, my attitude is gratitude, just taking life one step at a time.

Emmalee & Elena

Meet The Gals