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With the pressures of the holiday season, the lay-offs
taking place, and the economic concerns, it seems we all
have been getting caught up in 'stuff' and have
forgotten about how to live and spend our time…
We know of one person who truly knew how to live and
until Wednesday (December 17, 2008), she did that with
grace and beauty. Her name was Emma Hardie (she
was known as Auntie Em to us) and she died tragically on
the 401 (a highway minutes from her home in Ontario,
Canada).
The newspaper reported the 'facts' (and
you can view photos - very graphic and the story here
http://northumberlandtoday.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1350347
), however, the life of Emma Hardie is an inspiration to
our community and a reminder to hold our families and
friends near and dear this Christmas.
The Emma we knew was a relatively new mom, like many of
us in our circle. She was learning the delicate
balance of continuing with her dreams of teaching, being
a student, being a 'stay at home Mom', and connecting
with other like-minded people in this community, as she
was a recent Toronto 'transplant' who wanted clean air,
a safe place to raise her son Cole, and to live more
simply and naturally. Emma was incredibly aware of
the world around her and didn't just talk about what she
was going to do, she did it. Her thesis was
focusing on disabilities in adults, her classes were
about wellness and balance, and she volunteered her time
at a nearby organic farm, and with Mom's like me by
teaching parent & tot yoga at our house every week.
All of the Mom's were so thankful for the time to unwind
and connect while the little ones played nearby.
In fact, they often joined in, as you can see here:
http://www.soulvision.ca/yoga/gallery.htm
Her husband Rob is an amazing man who commutes to
Toronto a few days a week and stays with his family
overnight on Friday's so he can work back-to-back shifts
and be home more during the week. He works at a
well-known French restaurant and is also a chef.
They had been looking at saving up enough to buy the
Wedge restaurant in Port Hope and converting the loft
upstairs to a yoga studio so he could manage and cook at
the restaurant while she could teach yoga and wellness
classes and be around for Cole.
We have admired Rob since we met him as he has put his
family first and was always there for them no matter
what. In fact, he left work over the weekend in
the middle of a shift to be there for Emma as she had
quite the challenging events. On Saturday night
Emma was in a car accident in the Peterborough area
after being T-boned by a gentleman who passed out during
a Parkinson's episode. Thankfully the driver and
the two toddlers in the back were relatively unscathed,
however it was quite the scare as Emma was pinned and
couldn't see her son (or get to him) while encased in an
air bag. She wasn't even supposed to be there,
however, she had to come home from an intensive weekend
at school as Cole had the stomach flu and she wanted to
make sure he was ok and provide him with breast milk to
keep him hydrated and nourished.
Emma shared with me Monday after coming over to teach
the yoga class that she just had to slow down and be
there for her family and that she will figure out the
rest of the stuff in life later. It just seems so
wrong that she will never have that chance now.
Even more tragic is that a beautiful baby boy will only
have a scar on his head to remind him of the last day he
saw his Mom, and a husband has lost the love of his life
during the holiday season.
I know that it's easy to forget what's important during
the holidays with all the crap going on in the world.
Things kind of fall into perspective, though, when
tragedy like this hits.
Rob is on Facebook - Robert Bonathan (Toronto) -- if you
get a chance, perhaps add him to your friend's list and
send him and Cole some healing light and love.
They are both still very battered physically and I can't
even imagine how wounded they are emotionally and
spiritually.
You can
also check for updates including memorial service
information here:
http://soulvisionaries.wordpress.com/ |
