Amy is in that awkward stage of having one child in University and one child in diapers.
One gorgeous firey haired daughter studying political science and one curly-haired tornado of a toddler who never stops running!
Amy grew up in Thunder Bay two professors for parents (Math, Education, Art History, Visual Arts). She has fond memories of a childhood spent running through the university hallways.
She spent many years as a hard working single mom to her oldest before meeting her handsome Australian husband.
And she’s still hard working of course!
Amy is a very talented product photographer, having been vital in showcasing the plants and other products and Bill Martin’s Nursery Land. She has also been a contributing photographer for The Walleye Magazine.
Three and a half years ago, Amy experienced a tremendous loss when her ten-day-old son unexpectedly passed away. It was the most difficult and tragic experience in Amy’s life and it took her a long while to get back on track with regards to living a life with goals and purpose in mind.
Undoubtedly so. Nobody wants to experience the loss of a child and nobody should. But it happens. Whether your child is a few days old, or 14 years old, or an adult, it happens. When it does, it defies the natural order of life.
We all experience grief in different ways. There are no rules that say you should be recovered in X amount of time. Does a parent ever really recover from such a loss? Amy is not recovered. She will mourn her son always.
But time does pass and, slowly, it becomes easier to get out of bed, easier to cook dinner, and easier to leave the house. One day you’ll find yourself laughing and the sound will shock you. Perhaps it will be that very sound of laughter shocking you into a desire for more. The ache inside your heart and soul remains but life can still be beautiful and even fun.
Amy found herself pregnant again shortly after the loss of her first beloved son. It was that pregnancy that gave her strength to keep going, as well as her amazing daughter.
Eventually Amy realized she had a desire to be creative again, leading to the creation of Olives and Bananas, Amy’s wool felting and crochet business. Now the days are full of skeins and skeins of the softest yarn, and this guy:
Amy is so strong and beautiful and resilient. She has experienced the very worst that can happen, but life is still good.
Life is a husband with an impish accent; life is a whip-smart daughter marching in the one-million women march in Washington; life is a curly mop of hair atop the head of a curious whirlwind.
Life is also remembering.
