2022 Perry Photo Challenge Aeriel Frey, Second Place
Life After Loss
Often, we do not know to what extent we can rise above life’s challenges. Life after loss is worthy of examination; because it is there that we discover our capacity to survive. It is there that we discover resilience.
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On the surface, it is a quick trip to Target in Sioux City, Iowa on March 5th 2022, but for Lisha Edelen, a mother of two young children who unexpectedly lost her husband just over three months ago, it is vital family time. The challenge is daunting, but the two young lives that depend upon her have helped her summon incredible levels of resilience in the wake of this devastating tragedy. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting
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Stella, Lisha and Oscar Edelen pick out snacks for the day on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at Target in Sioux City, Iowa. Their family dynamic changed in an instant with the sudden loss of Lisha’s husband and the children’s father, Anthony, in November of 2021. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Lisha Edelen helps her son, Oscar, into some batting gloves while shopping for new baseball gear in the wake of the changing sports seasons in Sioux City, Iowa on March 5th, 2022. Lisha has assumed the more conventional father roles as she raises a young boy. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Oscar Edelen prepares for his basketball game with sister Stella (obscured) and his mother Lisha, at a basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Randy and Jill VonEhewgen, their daughter, Lisha Edelen, and Mary and Joe Edelen flank Lisha, at grandson Oscar’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday, March 5, 2022. The children’s grandparents play a vital support role providing Lisha the reassurance that she is not alone as she raises their grandchildren. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Lunch at a favorite Sioux City, Iowa restaurant can provide Oscar, Stella and Lisha Edelen some special family time together while getting out of their hometown of Vermillion, SD for Oscar’s basketball game on March 5th 2022. The empty seat at the table is a difficult reminder of the loss this family will forever endure. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Lisha Edelen listens to her daughter Stella convey a story as they dine with son, Oscar (not pictured) in Sioux City, Iowa on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Lisha realizes more than ever that things happen quickly in life and cherishing the small, meaningful moments makes all the difference. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Lisha Edelen and her son Oscar unload the car following their trip to Sioux City, Iowa for Oscar’s basketball game on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Edelen’s car bears the distinctive wrap advertising the cleaning and restoration business she owned with her late husband Anthony, in Vermillion, SD. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Stella Edelen (obscured) and her mother Lisha unpack from the day’s activities and prepare to close down their day in Vermillion, SD on Friday, March 4, 2022. Lisha’s role as a mother takes on the additional roles of planner, activity coordinator and chauffeur on a daily basis. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Conflict arises between siblings (Stella and Oscar) in Vermillion, SD, on Friday, March 4, 2022. Lisha Edelen has assumed the role as sole mediator as they continue to adjust to this new family dynamic. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Stella Edelen reacts to her mom, Lisha Edelen after she was told bedtime is near in their home in Vermillion, SD, on Friday, March 4, 2022. Lisha's bedtime doesn't stray far from her own kid's most nights; a result of her greater need for sleep after unexpectedly losing her husband of 13 years. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting -
Lisha Edelen and her daughter Stella share a quiet moment at bedtime in Vermillion, SD on March 4, 2022. Seeing her children to bed is an important ritual that is no longer shared, but is now a sole responsibility of this widowed mother of two. Photo by Aeriel Frey / Junior / Broadcasting