To Mom, with love

My mother, MaryLou Sunderland, designed this logo.

She passed away earlier this week, after a battle with cancer.

In many ways this whole Sunny Get Up project is a tribute to my mom and my “Sunny” Sunderland family. My mother is an artist, a talented watercolorist, and is somehow able to capture beauty and bring it to life with a brush and paper. My father is a brilliant photographer, and together as a pair my parents taught me how to see. My Sunny Get Up designs are a nod to their artistry. They’re my own version of seeing beauty with a camera lens and attempting to paint with water and color, letting light shine through. Most of the pants designs were drawn from our hikes together through the mountains of Colorado and the canyons of the southwest, or from my home state where I grew up, Kansas. My parents instilled in me a deep appreciation for nature and showed me how to see beauty in this world. It’s the greatest gift they could possibly give me and I am forever grateful.

My mother was the strongest woman I’ve ever known. She handled her illness with a grace and strength that I can only hope I inherited. I still marvel that after being diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, she still hiked Hahn’s Peak (10,774 ft), with me. She would get up while she could, and also rest when she needed to. She said that one of the things she learned from her illness is that she could adapt, and still be happy.

My mother was an optimist, but also an activist. She could always see the beauty in the world as it is, but also saw the need for action to make it better. She marched for climate change, for science, and for women’s rights. Her voice was soft, but wise and strong, and she used it for good. She said that voting was her last unfinished business, and I’m so thankful that she got to see this election through. My parents believe in giving generously to causes that make a difference, and each year instead of Christmas presents they prefer that I donate to environmental charities in their names.

My mother was so supportive of me and of this project. She has the most generous and caring heart and was always thinking of others. As just one example - she wanted to buy each of the staff members at the cancer center a pair of Sunny Get Up pants as a thank you for all of their care. She said the people on this journey with her were so important and made all the difference in the world.

My mother said she had a great life and it was one heck of a ride.

I love her so so much.

She will always inspire.

Sunny Get Up.