How do you say thanks?

Sometimes in life we find ourselves experiencing something pivotal, something that changes us forever, something unexpected. A few months ago I had such a moment, except it didn't really happen to me, I was merely a witness to the after effects, to the challenges, fear, prayers, and celebrations that came next. As I wandered alongside this family I discovered something amazing, someone amazing. This woman that I didn't know...her tragedy became that pivotal moment for me.

Stephanie Nielson, known to many in the blogging community as Nie Nie, had been in a horrible plane crash along with her husband and their friend. Stephanie suffered burns over 80% of her body, her husband was severely burned as well. Their friend passed away from his injuries. I spent months checking on Nie Nie's and Mr. Neilson's recovery, looking daily for a piece of news, encouraged by pictures of smiling children, a family's utter devotion, strangers coming forward, friends rallying.

I came to know of Stephanie and her family as a result of their tragedy, but I was drawn past the horrific details and found my self spending literally hours, long into the night, reading Nie Nie's blog (you can find a link on my blog list to the right). What I discovered was an amazing woman, a woman who embraced herself, her own beauty, cherished her family, was madly in love with her husband. A woman who celebrated the big and small, who made life magical for her children, even in the mundane acts of daily life.

Stories Stephanie told of her every day life challenge me as a wife, mother, sister, friend. I am older than Stephanie, farther along in this than she, married longer, mothering longer, but what I have learned from Stephanie's blog is that I have a lot to learn about these things.

Stephanie's unabashed love for her husband, her hopelessly romantic feelings (and sharing them) challenges me to shower my husband with more admiration publicly and privately, as so often we allow the busyness of day to day life to get in the way and we put off things we shouldn't. Her ideas of motherhood, the simple magic she creates through everyday things encourages me to celebrate with my own children more, to create more magic, to sit longer and cuddle, to linger at the table engrossed in conversation. Her true devotion to her friends...do my friends know how very special each and every one of them is to me? I hope so, but perhaps I need to say it more. Perhaps I should write a thank you to my dentist...

Stephanie also has a way of capturing her own self....flaws and all. Stephanie's use of self portraits (literally) as well as revealing details (flattering and not so flattering) challenges me to be more revealing, to encourage my own self, to embrace my own uniqueness.

In the four and a half months since learning of the Nie Nie Dialogues I have made many changes, some simple, some large, some emerging. Simple things like decorated tablecloths celebrating the seasons, cute spider plates for Halloween and snowman plates for Christmas for my boys. I pulled my apron out of storage and fell in love with it all over again. I make it a point to tell my husband how much I love him daily and thank him for providing for our family...

The funny thing is, had Stephanie not endured this horrific tragedy I might have never known of her...never had the chance to read her stories, to embrace her family, to ponder such things as Back To School parties and family words. Stephanie's tradegy touched literally thousands, far more than she likely would ever have reached without it. How does one say thank you to that? How can you ever say thank you to someone who has endured so much and yet in her very suffering touched so very many lives?

I am forever changed...we all are.