Missing Emilie

My childhood friend and neighbor Emilie Ast Lemmons, who has been suffering from cancer, died on Christmas Eve. I have been wanting to blog about it but haven't been sure how to. I have requested prayers on her behalf in the past, but now I'm requesting prayers on behalf of her husband Steve and two boys, Daniel and Ben.

Emilie was a writer by profession. We graduated from high school together. She attended Columbia University in New York. She was a soft-spoken, intelligent woman, who came from an uncomplicated, unpretentious, God-fearing Catholic family.

It has been a blessing in my life to become reacquainted with Emilie over this past year. We reconnected through facebook and then really got to know each other again through our blogs. If you get a chance, go to my sidebar and find Lemmondrops (her blog) and take a minute to read some of her entries.

Emilie visited her family in Portland--they still live in the house they did when I was a child--in October. By the end of the trip, she had an excrutiating pain in her hip and had to travel via wheelchair through the airport on her trip back to Minnesota.

To me, this was all very poignant. After my mother had seen all of her family, she too started to have intense pain in her hip and lost her ability to walk. I so hoped that these signs in Emilie, with her young family, weren't going to be the end for her. I also hoped she would make it through the holidays.

It is hard to understand why young children would have to lose a parent. My mom lost her mom when she was just about to turn six. My one comfort in this is that my mother was a uniquely strong person. She was sweetly strong. I hope this for these two boys.

As I have read of Emilie's journey through cancer up to death, I have been so impressed with her husband. I didn't realize until today, as I've read facts about her life on facebook, that she and Steve were only married for five years. The things she writes about him are so sweet. He loved her unconditionally.

I worry for Emilie's family here in Portland. Their road has not been an easy one. They are quiet people, strong and enduring. I hope in their situation they are able to get out to Minnesota. The funeral is on Monday.

I will miss reading Emilie's blog posts. I will miss getting to watch her boys grow up through her camera lens and hear about her fun dates with her husband. It is hard to believe that she is gone. I am grateful for the blogsphere that puts us back in touch with and connects us with others who we might never know but who can enrich our lives with their day to day comings and goings.

Please keep the Lemmons and Ast families in your prayers.