The Liberty Gazette
May 27, 2014
Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda
Street-Ely
Mike: AnnElise Bennett directs
her energy to lifting others up, giving tirelessly with compassion and
encouragement. Heartbreaking circumstances have taught her to meet challenges
daily with perspective: to water the flowers, not the weeds.
After the accident last year that took her precious youngest
daughter Sarah, her “Sunshine Girl”, two months before graduation from Stephen
F. Austin State University, AnnElise took charge of her emotional health and began
to feel her way through the darkness of grief.
Each of us travels that journey in our own way, and this pilot,
air racer, skydiver-dropper lady faces the grief that follows the loss of her
21-year old child, as a pilot-in-command.
She created an endowment at the university in Sarah’s name,
honoring her passion for photography with scholarships. Having long been a
fitness buff, she continued to challenge herself physically with yoga,
Crossfit, and gymnastics. At 56, she’s more fit than most people in their 20’s.
Linda: The first year is hard.
What
to do, as much as what not to do on the date that marks one year since the
start of so much pain, deserves great attention to the heart. Approaching that
mark, AnnElise steered her course: to Machu Picchu, Peru, with family members.
Intensely interested and prayerfully supportive, I watched for
what she would share knowing it would be completely AnnElise, and completely
Sarah.
Then one after another came Facebook photos of handstands. Maybe
they started as a funny pose on this special trip, but what’s evolved is a
story of inspiration.
Sister-daughter-niece
handstands in Moray and Lima, and all over Peru began to signify the AnnElise’s
message, helping her fight the sorrow by telling the world about the funny,
blissful girl Sarah was. Fighting sadness by sharing happiness.
Back from Peru with an undeniable urge to
handstand, her upside-down way that helps turn pain into Sharahing Sunshine is
quickly catching on.
What doubles the pleasure is that her sister Carol has been part
of it from the beginning, and now their daily handstand photos are among the
things I most look forward to on the social media site.
In the Bennett Easter family portrait is
AnnElise, handstanding. Against a Southwest Airlines B737 engine nacelle are
AnnElise and Carol, handstanding. Next to the windsock at the Bennett’s grass
runway, handstanding.
Carol, a concert cellist, in handstand pose,
titled one photo, “Chilling-With-The-Maestro-Before-The-Concert-Handstand”.
Handstanding in the orchestra pit, the
dressing room, with a Silver Fairy from the ballet Sleeping Beauty, at the door
of Homeland Security, while broken down on the side of the road awaiting a tow
truck, upon a suspension bridge, helping young ladies primp for the prom, up
against a police car (officer in photo too, smiling), and in front of a ladder
truck as the firemen were grocery shopping.
When Carol posed with a cat atop her feet,
AnnElise replied with a photo titled, “I’ll-See-Your-Cat-and-Raise-You-A-Rooster-Handstand”.
Then Carol found a photo of Sarah at the
beach – doing a handstand.
Now others are posting handstand photos, under
water, in front of the U.S. Congress building, and the sunshine is spreading
because these handstands make a statement.
For AnnElise it’s about not letting the
sadness win. From the fun comes the deep-seated intent of the act: to Share the
Sunshine. Pass it on.
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