The GFT Blog : A Well Deserved Dedication to my "Laurney"

Lauren Wesley Adams Austin

May 20, 1984-October 15, 2023

A llittle bit about where Ive been and where I hope to go: 

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It has taken me six whole months to find the strength to talk about my loss and to have the courage to move into a new phase of my life where I try to turn darkness into light.  So this one's for you "Laurney"....I know you will guide me as I have decided to put my big girl pants on and go for it....

 

The story of us:

 

Lauren Austin was my best friend but not in the way that most best friends connect.  We were not childhood friends nor did we meet because of simlair life experiences...Heck, I was probably dating when she started kindergarten...YES...I am her elder (lol) but I like to reference her as "young with and old soul"...(made me feel better that way...lol) Regardless of age...we were kindred spirits. We connected from day one.  She was a new teacher and I was her literacy coach. (see...right from the start, I was like the big sister in the relationship and she was my heart!). I knew that she would turn out to be one amazing educator and an ever more amazing friend. She did and it happened fast! As the great connections continued to unfold something even more amazing took place...She met, fell in love with and later married Chris Austin...who just happened to be my husband's best friend and my "brother from another mother".  Explaining the history that my husband and I have with the Austin brothers would take a whole new blog entry but the short version is....My two best friends fell in love, got married and created an amazing family of their own.    Lauren became the best stepmom of three amazing kiddos, who I love dearly and later brought that sweet baby Grey into our lives. It was just awesome.  We really were like a big happy family. My kids were close to their kids and we all did what we could to support one another other over the years.  WE celebrated family accomplishments together, vacationed together, and even tried to pick the pieces up for one another as we needed to keep the daily grind a little less challenging when we could.  After all, we were just one street away from one another and that created a great support structure as well!  It was just the best life!  We had it made!  Words cannot describe just how awesome it all was and that is why it has been SOOOOO hard to accept that she is no longer with us.  It has been so hard to understand and I miss her every single day.  The pain of not having her in my life has made for some major struggles. My daughter Jessi (who has been such a rock for us all during this time) just recently got married and that was probably the first big thing we had to do without Lauren. Chris, Grey, his kids, Karen (her mom) and Taylor (her sister), Ryan, and Carson were right there working through it all, knowing that is where she would have wanted us to all be...TOGETHER!  So now, being there for her son, Grey as he moves forward is my mission and I am using my passion for early learning to let her light continue to shine.  I have dedicated my continued efforts to advocate for early learning and development because of my witness to her natural ability to provide the most amazing early learning experiences for her sweet son, Grey. I want every child to see learning can be FUN!

 

Grey was her EVERYTHiNG and providing for him gave her the greenlight to let all of her creative and free spirited talents shine.  Lauren's daring spirit to wander "outside the box" gave her the abiity to turn any average task, project, item or idea into something special and amazing.   It was nothing for me to walk into her home on a random weekday to find her doing her best work in "play mode".  Her personality was her superpower!  And I benefitted greatly from watching it all unfold in our day to day interactions.  You see...when Grey was a baby, I was working in the Office of Early Learning at the Department of Public Instruction for North Carolina.   A grant secured some funding to hire a part time teammate to support my work.  Of course I wanted her...I needed her creativity and her amazing marketing skills.  It was a WIN WIN!  She wanted to be home more with Grey and the timing was perfect....It was meant to be.  Those years of working with her were some of the best days of my life.  Needless to say the work relationship made the friendship stronger and the friendship made the working relationship stronger!  We were the dynamic duo...traveling buddies...hotel roomies...and shop-aholic sistas!!!!  I cherish the memories of every GPS screw up, every thrift store adventure, every laugh, every blended family vacation, and every Krispy Kreme calorie absorbed (she loved a glazed doughnut more that anyone I know).  All that to say this....This blog is my way of keeping her memory alive.  

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Moving forward:

When someone is passionate about something, they will push through the pain and continue to make an impact.  I know you are with me, "Laurney"! Give me strength to channel your free spirit in this work and help me share "out of the box" ideas and best practices for early learning through this blog.  My goal is to fully immerse myself in doing great work for children!   -You will be in my heart FOREVER!!!!!

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