My Little Sister
It's been 41 days since I got the news that my sister died. It hurts so much. She was the first person I went to see when I decided to leave my husband, she brought me goofy slippers to wear when I was in the hospital, we had all these stupid in-jokes that noone but us would ever giggle at. I'm so fucking lonely without her. Can't say more but thought I could share my eulogy.
Thank you so much for coming today. I know it would warm Erin's heart to know that so many people have come together to support each other while we mourn her loss and celebrate her short years here with us.
Erin wore many hats in her life - literally and figuratively.
Her longest roles were Daughter, "Baby Sitzer" and Aunty but the once that held the most meaning for her was that of Mother.
Erin was a little toughie and was always into everything as a kid. My earliest memory is me calling for mom because she was on top of the fridge. Seriously, 2 years old and managed to make her way to the top of the fridge! I've been told that Erin didn't learn how to walk until she was fourteen months old because I dragged my "Yuvbug" anywhere she wanted to go.
Being born on Christmas Day might have been a wonderful present for my parents but Erin wasn't thrilled with sharing her birthday with anyone - not even Jesus. She didn't like turkey at all so Christmas slash Birthday Dinner always included Mom's fancy macaroni and cheese with croutons on top especially for the birthday girl.
Erin was always involved in gymnastics, baseball, boarding and other activities that seemed to keep our parents perpetually in the emergency room. From busted fingers to messed up legs and broken teeth, Erin would never give up and didn’t allow any injury to stop her from reaching her goal. This attitude carried on throughout her life.
She was very active in her community. Before Simon and Thatcher were born, she and Ben were volunteers and leaders in the Sylvan Lake Cub Scouts. The joy she got out of helping those kids and the fun they had with her made it obvious she would make a good mother.
When she found out that Simon had autism, Erin didn’t fall apart. Instead she focused her energy on researching his condition and consulting with anyone who knew how to help. She did anything and everything to ensure that her oldest son thrived and reached his fullest potential.
I remember coming to Sylvan Lake to help Erin after Thatcher was born. She looked radiant. That girl always looked good - even her driver’s license photo looks awesome.
Once of Erin’s nicest characteristics was her willingness to help people however she could. She was an advocate and articulate spokesperson for the United Way, sharing her story so that others could be helped by it. She sat on derby boards and was an active participant in dialogue regarding Sylvan Lake. As many people in this room can attest to, Erin was willing to give you the shirt of her back, even if it meant she was going to be chilly. I have witnessed Erin going without so someone she cared about could be helped. She was generous to a fault and often sacrificed her own well-being to ensure that those around her were taken care of.
Erin was a mother, daughter, sister, aunty, wife, businesswoman, cake decorator, welder, belly dancer, mechanic, derby girl extraordinaire, wild child, passionate advocate for those less fortunate and so much more to so many people. She had recently entered a new chapter in her life and it’s a tragedy that we will never know what she was going to do next and what she might have transformed into.
What I hope we can all do is remember the best version of whatever Erin we personally knew and make sure that Benny, Simon and Thatcher have our love and support in her honour. The only relief from the pain I am feeling over losing my baby Yuvbug is knowing she’s not hurting anymore. So many people loved her and the love she felt for us is going to give us the strength we need to be there for her family.
What I’m going to ask you to do now is something I didn’t do for yesterday’s family service. This is something I couldn’t bear to ask you myself without breaking down, thanks to Pam for doing this in my stead.:
Simon and Thatcher have been told that their mother is the brightest star in the sky and that she’s looking over them. We all know that star is shining day or night, whether we see it or not. Could you all please just look up and say “we love you, Erin”? I want to know that star is fuelled by so much love that her sons, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren, her great great grandchildren and so on will have her shining down on them. Most everything Erin did was fueled by a need to love and be loved, let’s give her enough fuel to last until the end of time. One, two three...WE LOVE YOU ERIN.
Thank you so much for coming today. I know it would warm Erin's heart to know that so many people have come together to support each other while we mourn her loss and celebrate her short years here with us.
Erin wore many hats in her life - literally and figuratively.
Her longest roles were Daughter, "Baby Sitzer" and Aunty but the once that held the most meaning for her was that of Mother.
Erin was a little toughie and was always into everything as a kid. My earliest memory is me calling for mom because she was on top of the fridge. Seriously, 2 years old and managed to make her way to the top of the fridge! I've been told that Erin didn't learn how to walk until she was fourteen months old because I dragged my "Yuvbug" anywhere she wanted to go.
Being born on Christmas Day might have been a wonderful present for my parents but Erin wasn't thrilled with sharing her birthday with anyone - not even Jesus. She didn't like turkey at all so Christmas slash Birthday Dinner always included Mom's fancy macaroni and cheese with croutons on top especially for the birthday girl.
Erin was always involved in gymnastics, baseball, boarding and other activities that seemed to keep our parents perpetually in the emergency room. From busted fingers to messed up legs and broken teeth, Erin would never give up and didn’t allow any injury to stop her from reaching her goal. This attitude carried on throughout her life.
She was very active in her community. Before Simon and Thatcher were born, she and Ben were volunteers and leaders in the Sylvan Lake Cub Scouts. The joy she got out of helping those kids and the fun they had with her made it obvious she would make a good mother.
When she found out that Simon had autism, Erin didn’t fall apart. Instead she focused her energy on researching his condition and consulting with anyone who knew how to help. She did anything and everything to ensure that her oldest son thrived and reached his fullest potential.
I remember coming to Sylvan Lake to help Erin after Thatcher was born. She looked radiant. That girl always looked good - even her driver’s license photo looks awesome.
Once of Erin’s nicest characteristics was her willingness to help people however she could. She was an advocate and articulate spokesperson for the United Way, sharing her story so that others could be helped by it. She sat on derby boards and was an active participant in dialogue regarding Sylvan Lake. As many people in this room can attest to, Erin was willing to give you the shirt of her back, even if it meant she was going to be chilly. I have witnessed Erin going without so someone she cared about could be helped. She was generous to a fault and often sacrificed her own well-being to ensure that those around her were taken care of.
Erin was a mother, daughter, sister, aunty, wife, businesswoman, cake decorator, welder, belly dancer, mechanic, derby girl extraordinaire, wild child, passionate advocate for those less fortunate and so much more to so many people. She had recently entered a new chapter in her life and it’s a tragedy that we will never know what she was going to do next and what she might have transformed into.
What I hope we can all do is remember the best version of whatever Erin we personally knew and make sure that Benny, Simon and Thatcher have our love and support in her honour. The only relief from the pain I am feeling over losing my baby Yuvbug is knowing she’s not hurting anymore. So many people loved her and the love she felt for us is going to give us the strength we need to be there for her family.
What I’m going to ask you to do now is something I didn’t do for yesterday’s family service. This is something I couldn’t bear to ask you myself without breaking down, thanks to Pam for doing this in my stead.:
Simon and Thatcher have been told that their mother is the brightest star in the sky and that she’s looking over them. We all know that star is shining day or night, whether we see it or not. Could you all please just look up and say “we love you, Erin”? I want to know that star is fuelled by so much love that her sons, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren, her great great grandchildren and so on will have her shining down on them. Most everything Erin did was fueled by a need to love and be loved, let’s give her enough fuel to last until the end of time. One, two three...WE LOVE YOU ERIN.