What do you do when you are upset? When something unexplainable happens and your world is rocked to the very core?
I write. I sit down and write it all out.
I write and revise.
I rewrite.
I let my words flow and I let the emotions out.
Tonight that is what I have to do.
If you follow me on Facebook you know that our little North Iowa Bloggers group lost one of our members on Wednesday morning in a car accident on a snowy and horrible driving day. Amy Hild from Modern Rural Living had spent the morning with other social media enthusiasts at our monthly North Iowa Social Media Breakfast. I was not in attendance since I am in Alabama but I had sent her a message early in the morning with something that I thought she needed to check out I had liked her tweets. I had liked her posts. I had tweeted that I missed being there at the meeting and tagged her in the tweet. I commented on her status that the roads were bad.
And then I got “the” call. One of the other bloggers, Donna, called me and I immediately knew that something was wrong. But I thought it was something with her husband who is a truck driver. My mind just went there. But no—the news was that our beloved Amy was killed in a horrific accident and then there was silence. We both were in shock. There were just no words.
The rest of the day was spent alternating between sitting like a zombie to crying . Phone conversations were difficult. Facebook posts and texts started flying back and forth as the news became public. I realized that the picture that I had posted on my Facebook page of an accident in North Iowa was the accident that claimed the life of my friend. I took it down. I removed all my comments on Amy’s post about the bad weather. I cried. No, I wept.
Amy was probably one of the most creative people that I have had the occasion to know. As a graphic designer she had that eye. She had mad skills and we all bowed to her expertise when it came to design and layout. She did many logos for our blogging group and was a driving force behind our website She was enthusiastic and energetic and lovable. Not only was she beautiful outside she was even more beautiful inside. She had a beautiful spirit. She was genuine and real. She was encouraging and supportive and always had a smile on her face. She was brilliant at what she did and loved her Latham Hi-Tech Seed family.
She was getting married in May to the love of her life, Spenser. They had just gotten a sweet puppy, Patches, and were planning for a lifetime of happiness.
And then in an instant it all changed and we are left with tears and sadness.
It is so difficult to wrap my mind around the thought that I will never sit at The Barrel and eat chicken and take selfies with her ridiculous selfie stick again.
I will never be able to go thrift store shopping with her.
I will not be shopping for that perfect wedding present for her.
She won’t be at our upcoming bloggers Pizza Taste Test party.
So what do I “do’? I do what I need to do. I spend time grieving in the way that I need to grieve. I offer up whatever I can to the family and friends. I support all those who loved Amy and I pray that we all can find some peace in the situation some day.
And I remember her beautiful smile and wonderful spirit and all that she embodied. Those things will always be a part of me. My world was richer because I was able to call this lovely woman friend.
Thank you to all who have reached out to me in various ways when you found out the news. There will be a service to celebrate her life on Monday and my plan that day is to go quiet on my blog out of respect for her. Please, if you can, keep her family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers over the next months. The Globe Gazette wrote a nice article and hopefully you can read that if you click here. If you would like to give in a tangible way a Memorial Fund has been set up in Amy’s memory. You can go directly to that site to donate online by clicking here.
Amy’s Blog: Modern Rural Living
To read other posts written in memory of Amy you can click on any of the links below:
