0 comments / Posted on by Deanne Shanteau

 

     Happy International Women’s Day to women from all walks of life, we all have a story to share. Here a la Style Snob Boutique we celebrate you not just today but every day.

     Within the Style Snob community, I have had the pleasure of connecting with women all over the country and it has been the greatest gift. We continue to lift each other up in all seasons of life. Today is extra special as I invite you to honour one of our beautiful #stylesnobs, Raquel.

     Raquel Spahn is an honorary #stylesnob that has been with me since the very the start of my business. With what I do it is so easy to grow close with your clients, Raquel is no exception. I invite you to learn a little bit about Raquel’s story these past ten months and hopefully you are as inspired by her strength as I am. I am also humbled by her ability to keep moving forward despite these tragic circumstances. I love you Raquel!

     On March 20th, 2021 Raquel lost her husband to a tragic work related accident. This happened ten days before their first born daughter, Paloma, came into this world. As someone that friended Raquel over the years, I always admired the love she shared with her husband. It was beautiful to watch them grow a family together. I was absolutely heartbroken when I learned of his accident. The words, “why” and “how” flooded my mind, and to be honest, they haven't left since. Raquel has been vulnerable in sharing the beauty that is in her life because of her baby girl, but the grief she feels every single day. My heart goes out to her as navigating post partum in itself is non small feat.  She shares her joy from having Paloma while reminiscing and remembering her husband. My heart is heavy as I write this, but Raquel has shared very recently that she wants to share her heart and be a light in this world for not just her daughter but everyone else too. What better way to spread her light than to use my platform to share? I hope in sharing Raquel’s strength you feel inspired to keep going too. Life can be very messy, it isn’t all about curated feeds and picture perfect moments. Women together can get through so much and I invite all of you to continue to support Raquel and baby Paloma in this journey called life. Love conquers all.

     We are gifting $200 to my boutique so Raquel can treat herself to some new spring #stylesnob pieces to step into this next chapter with her daughter. Raquel has been so kind to share insight and perspective on how she is getting through this tragic loss. I have shared her words on my blog as our first feature under, “Women Who Inspire.” This was my original intention with my blog 3.5 years ago and I am so thankful it has come to fruition at this time. Raquel, you really inspire me. Please consider taking some time to send love Raquel’s way.

     It is important we find inspiration not just from celebrities and people we glorify because they meet some level of society’s standard of “success.” But we can turn to the woman next door, the woman in the seat next to us on a plane, a kind soul raising her babies on her own you meet at your kid’s school. We can all learn from each other and I feel blessed to have learned from so many of you.

Raquel recently told me, “Grief is never-ending because love is never-ending.”

Raquel's Beautiful Words:

As some of you may know, I lost my husband in a work related accident when I was 9 months pregnant with our baby girl. I was completely shattered. I never expected that being a 1st time mom would look like this for me; But nobody ever expects things like this. Ten days later, I gave birth to our little girl. I knew that she was meant to save me. She is my reason to keep moving forward and not focus on the sad so much. She deserves a happy life and a happy mom too. Without her I would’ve been completely lost and broken. As I’ve been going through my grief journey, I’ve been able to connect with so many other women that have lost their husbands too. Some are further along and some are just starting down this journey, but being able to share our stories and experiences has helped me to not feel so alone. In the beginning, I used to think that this feeling of grief would one day leave me but now almost a year later, I know it never will leave and that’s ok. Learning to live with my grief is a journey in itself. I have my moments of sadness and utter devastation and I’ve learned to let myself feel those feelings for as long as I need to. I’ve also learned to not dwell in them. My hope is that one day when I think about my husband that my tears will flow less and that I will smile and laugh more. I know he would want that for me. He was the happiest person on earth and had the best outlook on life! I want to make him proud and be the best mommy and daddy I can be to our daughter!

 

Sincerely,

 

Style Snob

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