There once was a magical woman named Elena Mae.
Since Elena died on March 4, 2022, family and friends have continued to ask about a funeral, celebration of life, etc. Being that I have barely been able to adequately process the killing of our 6-year-old daughter Roxie in 2019, nothing felt right until this thought came to mind…
Elena and I always exchanged letters and cards, expressing our love, even during times of excruciating despair.
All of us have written love letters, whether to our first love or to our last. Therefore, I thought we should celebrate this idea of putting our love in writing, no matter how challenging. Life is big and fast. Let’s slow it down, even for a day, as we share our Love Letters together.
If I had to succinctly describe Elena, I’d say she was equal parts steady-as-she-goes, mysterious and consistently surprising.
I loved her because she embraced life without conditions, because goodness naturally coursed through her veins.
Elena’s career was not her life. Her life was her career. Her family and friends were her career. Her daughter was her career. And I am lucky enough to say that her marriage was her career.
We too often measure our lives by titles, by objects, by accumulation. We can measure Elena by what she contributed, not what she acquired. We can measure her by her steady hand, her steady voice, her steady road to the very end.
Her final 32 months on this earth were no less than the stuff our worst nightmares are made of. But through it all, she continued to smile while suffering, she continued to find purpose through pain, she continued to give instead of take, and she did leave the world a better place than she found it.
My darling, my love, I miss you, I miss you, I miss you.
My tribute to Elena soon after she died.
My Final Celebration of Her Life.
I shared this love letter at Elena’s surprise 50th birthday party knowing she was dying.
