Limerick woman journeys to empower children and their superpowers
FOR 26-year-old Limerick woman Emma Cullinane, her superpower is not flying or invisibility, but rather her resilience in the worst weather, even when she felt like she could crumble to the slightest breeze.
Having fallen pregnant with her long-time boyfriend while on her Erasmus programme in Amsterdam, the Abbeyfeale native felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.
“I remember just walking out to my balcony in my apartment, and even now I can vividly imagine the trees and I was thinking ‘this is not happening to me’,” she recounts.
Having given birth to her son, Kallum, now five, later followed by Theo, who is now a-year-old, Emma found herself balancing the responsibilities of motherhood while still in pursuit of education.
Now, Emma candidly shares her struggles with depression following the death of her beloved grandmother, and also following Kallum’s birth. “It lasted a year and a half, and it was severe,” she remembers.
At the time, the young mum still didn’t know how to ease her mind, but now she recalls the day she found perspective.
While continuing to study in UCC - Emma received a call which changed her outlook on life forever.
“Kallum had a fever, and I got the feeling something was wrong, so I hopped in the car to get home to him,” she started.
“I was maybe in Kanturk, when I got the phone call - ‘Kallum’s unresponsive, he's not breathing’.”
Stunned even while recalling the memory, she continued: “The ambulance was on the way, and I nearly died inside the car myself because that’s my child.”
Now with the knowledge that Kallum had a febrile seizure, Emma found her journey home that evening endless.
“I remember looking up to the sky and saying to God ‘if you have to take one of us, take me. I've lived so many days, and he hasn't lived enough’.”
But fate stepped in, in the form of Emma’s brother.
In Transition Year at the time, Alex had that day learned CPR at a training course, and was able to resuscitate his nephew, and soon-to-be godchild.
Years on, and as a way to keep grounded, the young mum now finds mindfulness and yoga play an avid part in her life.
“My two boys - I call them my yoga babies,” she laughed, “With Theo, I did yoga the whole way through my pregnancy.
"Whereas with Kallum, I would have found mindfulness when he was maybe two-and-a-half. Because of that, I do feel Theo is more regulated than Kallum can be."
Resolute about creating a book that encompassed yoga, nature, mindfulness, and fun, what was born was an interactive book with over 50 pages designed to nurture emotional growth and self-acceptance for young readers.
Having been empowered by her own parents at a young age, she believes inclusivity is what sets her book apart: “I want all these children to realise that who they are is amazing, and they don't need to be anybody else,” Emma smiled.
With a great eye for business, she hopes to tap into the world of affirmations, with a new release coming just in time for Christmas.
For the future, the savvy entrepreneur is manifesting peace and happiness for herself, and her boys. “I’m really happy where I am in life right now, and there was a stage in my life I could never say that - but now I can,” she shares.
Emma’s book and upcoming works can be bought in selected newsagents, and online at senseofwonder.ie.