November 17, 2021 I knew that morning that time was short. Eli had things he hadn't finished, so I invited our friend Diamond Jim, who worked at This is the Place, to come over so he could get Eli's leather working projects and finish them. One less task undone--one less thing tying Eli to this …
Tag: prayer
Thanksgiving
I am often puzzled when people express gratitude for something bad that has happened to them or their loved ones. They might say something like, "I learned so much from [insert challenging experience here], and I am grateful it happened because I am a stronger person because of it." Well, I'm not grateful for Eli's …
Deathversary
Dear Eli, I totally don't know what to call it. Death day? Death Anniversary? We were calling it your graduation, since you graduated from this life, but graduation anniversary doesn't seem right, either. So, when it comes up, we just call it the 17th. [One cousin who read this post uses "angelversary", which is a …
Dear Eli
I've had trouble finishing posts for your blog. Distraction has been my therapy of choice, but it's time to use writing now. It's been almost 9 months since you died and it's gone by in a blink and dragged on like years, depending on the day. August 2021 A year ago, you spoke in our …
Dragon Hunts
Dear Eli, Ella composed this song for you in February, performed it for your birthday party in May, and performed it again at a camp she and Peter went to at BYU last week. You can't tell from the video, but there were 800 people in the audience. Miss you Eli! https://youtu.be/xZRjFTxlmzc
Bittersweet Easter
As Easter was drawing near this year, I realized that it would be on the 17th of the month, exactly 5 months after Eli departed this world for the next. I was checking my Facebook messages this morning and had the thought that I needed to check the messages that Facebook doesn't notify me of …
Aftershocks – Valerie Essay 2
By Valerie Started: 11/25/21, Finished: 1/13/22 Eli & Valerie Aftershocks Often, the aftershocks are worse than the earthquake itself; they leave devastation in their wake for days, even weeks after the main earthquake. I wrote about my perspective from the sidelines watching my little brother Eli’s three-year battle with cancer. Unfortunately, the effects of cancer …
Moving Forward with Hope
Two weeks ago we passed the two month mark since Eli's passing. It feels like yesterday and forever ago all at once. These torches are solar powered and flicker in the dark. Christmas Christmas was magical. Thanks to very generous organizations and anonymous elves, we were able to customize their gifts to build their talents …
Silent Night
When Eli was little, his first sentence was spoken to me as I changed his diaper. As I leaned over the changing table to secure the tabs on his diaper, my hair fell forward and tickled his face. He removed his fingers from his mouth, which he had been sucking, to reach out to touch …
Basking in Love, Part 1
Adam again. The night Eli graduated, we began sending notifications and making phone calls. We started with the medical people, so they could come and complete the formalities and paperwork. Then to our close friends who had already been helping us plan for this event, or had been directly helping us cope in various ways. …
Eli The Boss 