Hope for Nie Nie

Yesterday I woke up and, for the first time in weeks, was home to get my daughter up for school. Trent and I have quite an intricate system, as both of us have busy careers that require immense amounts of time management, where he is our morning guy and I’m the afternoon gal. I go to work early, he gets Lu up and to school, I pick her up in the afternoon. It works out great for the most part, but sometimes I really wish I could be there when she gets out of her bed, all warm with messy hair standing up in every direction, lines on her face from her blankets, eyes heavy and still caked with sleep. I imagine bringing her in to my bed and holding her close, while we wake up together. I think about making her breakfast and picking out clothes (that match) for school. I wonder if she’d be sad about going to school or be excited to see her friends. But most days, like today, I’m sitting at my desk in my office, daydreaming about what she is doing, instead of experiencing it for myself.

Yesterday I had a breakfast meeting that was cancelled. So instead of rushing to get to the office, I took my time and dawdled around until I could hear her stirring. I told Trent to get out of there, get to work and make some money, because I was in charge this morning. Lu started yelling for Mommy, and Trent told me she does that everyday, which made me both mournful and happy at the same time. She is thinking of me in the morning too.

We snuggled, we talked, she grabbed my face and pulled it close to hers. She twirled my hair, entwined with her own. We spoke of school, her friends, what she wanted to do that day, how we were going to see her cousins at the lake this weekend, everything we could think of. And slowly we got dressed, left the house and I dropped her off at school. She ran into the class laughing and immediately started hugging everyone she saw. The little girls, both older and younger, squealed, “LUUUCY!” and ran over to her. She turned back to me and waved, running off with them.

Sometimes it takes a very small thing to put life in perspective. Sometimes, it takes an unimaginable tragedy. Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie) is a blogger just like me, a beautiful mother with four kids and a husband who should be a model. In fact, their whole family is so beautiful, it’s hard to imagine they haven’t been tapped by Tyra Banks for America’s Next Top Model Family Edition. And, as mentioned by another blogger, how lucky is she to have four kids, all with different colored hair?! How does that happen?!

Nie is one of those people that I don’t know in real life, have never spoken to her, but through this strange world of blogging, she has affected my life. A few weeks ago Nie and her husband, Christian, were in a horrible airplane crash in Arizona. They both survived, but are still in critical condition, with 80% of Nie’s body covered in third degree burns. They are both in medically induced comas and are fighting each and every day. Their four gorgeous children have been taken in my Nie’s sisters, one of whom is blogging about the whole experience here.

Since Nie’s accident, the Internet has rallied around her and her family. From sending up prayers and hope in balloons to sending money and cards to the hospital, this virtual world of friends has stepped up to help in any way possible. Today has been declared Nie Nie Day, and there are auctions all over the blogosphere with all the proceeds going to Stephanie and Christian. You can see all of the auctioned items here, and if you can, please try and bid. You could get some great stuff, and also help out a family that truly needs all the assistance they can get. If you want to find other ways to help, or just want to learn more about Stephanie and her family, click here.

And when you wake up in the morning, think about all of the things you get to do today. All of those daily tasks that seem so mundane and laborious. Enjoy them. Take your time. Breathe. And then thank Nie for that gift.

(All photos in this post by Blue Lily)