Lately I have been struggling, I have been unabashedly affected by the loss of a person that I didn't know very well.
In the past I have lost family to illness and old age. of course it upset me, but in my mind, they were in pain, they were suffering and they are no longer those things. I miss them and I think of them often. I But I have no idea how I am ever going to cope when someone I love is taken from me before their time, before anyone is ready and willing to say goodbye.
Late last week a young woman I met in Birdsville, far south-west corner of QLD, was involved in a single car accident on the Birdsville Track with her Partner who sustained non-life threatening injuries. This is a road I myself have travelled on many time, by myself and with friends when we would head out past the SA/QLD border late at night to enjoy the abundance of stars that lit up the outback skies.
Kelly Theobald was a freelance journalist, photographer and author based in Birdsville. Kelly was a beautiful, inspiring, colourful, warm soul, with the biggest smile. She was kind and friendly to everyone. A real gem- one of a kind. Although our time was fleeting, I was leaving my time in the outback as Kelly was just about to begin hers. She had a great life to look forward to.
I kept up to date with what she was up to after I started following her FB page and later on Instagram. She set it all up in a way that anyone who had never experienced the outback life could feel the awe that you would feel while watching the sun set over the Simpson desert atop Big Red! Enjoying long, hot summer days by the billabong, the local events and festivities, such as the Bronco Branding, The Birdsville Races, Local bike and horse Gymkhana's. So much fun. I loved seeing what the locals were up to at any given time via Kelly's own view.
This morning, for some reason I was overcome with grief, I don't presume to think it was all about Kelly, but it was that sad song from fast and Furious about Paul Walker that came on, and I just started feeling so sad, so sad that her Boyfriend Wade would never hold her again, her friends wont have her shining face to see and laugh with- her family losing this beautiful human they brought into the world and raised into an insightful, thoughtful woman. I was overcome with tears and then I was sobbing. I don't understand why or where these emotions came from. I don't understand why I am affected so deeply by the loss. I guess I truly enjoyed Kelly and what she had to offer the world, now she is gone. But her inspiration and her spirit will live on in every single person whose life she touched.
All Photo's were taken from Kelly's Public Page on Facebook: Kelly Theobald https://www.facebook.com/KellyTheobaldWrites
Word Pictures were taken from Kelly's Instagram Page: Kellytheobald_
In the past I have lost family to illness and old age. of course it upset me, but in my mind, they were in pain, they were suffering and they are no longer those things. I miss them and I think of them often. I But I have no idea how I am ever going to cope when someone I love is taken from me before their time, before anyone is ready and willing to say goodbye.
Late last week a young woman I met in Birdsville, far south-west corner of QLD, was involved in a single car accident on the Birdsville Track with her Partner who sustained non-life threatening injuries. This is a road I myself have travelled on many time, by myself and with friends when we would head out past the SA/QLD border late at night to enjoy the abundance of stars that lit up the outback skies.
Kelly Theobald was a freelance journalist, photographer and author based in Birdsville. Kelly was a beautiful, inspiring, colourful, warm soul, with the biggest smile. She was kind and friendly to everyone. A real gem- one of a kind. Although our time was fleeting, I was leaving my time in the outback as Kelly was just about to begin hers. She had a great life to look forward to.I kept up to date with what she was up to after I started following her FB page and later on Instagram. She set it all up in a way that anyone who had never experienced the outback life could feel the awe that you would feel while watching the sun set over the Simpson desert atop Big Red! Enjoying long, hot summer days by the billabong, the local events and festivities, such as the Bronco Branding, The Birdsville Races, Local bike and horse Gymkhana's. So much fun. I loved seeing what the locals were up to at any given time via Kelly's own view.
When I heard the news I was shocked, I felt like all of a sudden the world was missing a bright shining jewel. How would the light ever be replaced, I felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow- not for myself- but for her partner, he loved her so much as she did him. You could feel it in her posts and photos, they just fit! I felt such sadness for her family, her friends both in Birdsville and beyond. Even though I was not close with Kelly, I feel this loss hard. It has opened me up to an awareness that anyone can just be 'gone' in an instant. of course I have always known this to be true, but when something like this happens, when someone so young, intelligent, adaptable and vibrant is taken in a freak accident-so suddenly- it brings so many things into perspective.
It has given me the ability to see my life now, all the plans I have and the things I have done- it all needs to change. Life is too short to be sitting around just 'waiting'. I am missing out- at least I have that horrible black hole pull that I am missing out. I need to do something with my life that makes me truly happy. That is my goal, that is what I need to take from Kelly. I'll take a leaf out of her positive book, and put as much life into my years as I can.
This morning, for some reason I was overcome with grief, I don't presume to think it was all about Kelly, but it was that sad song from fast and Furious about Paul Walker that came on, and I just started feeling so sad, so sad that her Boyfriend Wade would never hold her again, her friends wont have her shining face to see and laugh with- her family losing this beautiful human they brought into the world and raised into an insightful, thoughtful woman. I was overcome with tears and then I was sobbing. I don't understand why or where these emotions came from. I don't understand why I am affected so deeply by the loss. I guess I truly enjoyed Kelly and what she had to offer the world, now she is gone. But her inspiration and her spirit will live on in every single person whose life she touched.
Wade Gilby & Kelly Theobald.
(Photo: Facebook)
All Photo's were taken from Kelly's Public Page on Facebook: Kelly Theobald https://www.facebook.com/KellyTheobaldWrites
Word Pictures were taken from Kelly's Instagram Page: Kellytheobald_
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