“‘She will be good for him,’ she motioned towards my newborn. What? I live in a new city, knowing hardly anyone other than my husband, and now I suddenly have an autistic son and newborn daughter? I looked at my sweet Finley, his precious little face, and cried because of how I thought the world would see him.”
“It was a normal day. We headed to Wegmans. While I was pushing the cart, Finn was lagging a little. ‘What’s wrong?’ He responded, ‘I can’t keep up, carry me.’ One of his sides went limp and his face was leaning on the cart. I went to pick him up and he collapsed on the floor. I started screaming for help and a Wegmans employee yelled to call 911. They wanted to make sure he didn’t have a stroke.”
“Once we got to the hotel, the kids immediately wanted to go swimming. While they were playing, I took a picture of my baby watching them. I posted it with the caption, ‘watching the siblings swim!,’ as well as a location tag of Breckenridge, Colorado. Within 30 minutes, I received a comment that honestly blew me away.”
“One week after the shoot, his wife Reva was in hospice care. I asked others to join me in sending Jack letters and words of encouragement to bring joy to his grieving heart. In my heart, I hoped for 100 cards. I never in a million years would’ve imagined the outpouring of love for this precious man! YOU GUYS, Jack has received 435 letters!”
“It was like fate he left his phone there or else I never would’ve found out he cheated on me with his ‘lesbian’ best friend. She was younger than me, blonde like me, had the ‘spark’ of energy I used to have. She was shiny, new, full of life. As I laid there contemplating what to do, the first thought that ran through my head was, ‘He’s going to be mad I went through his phone,’ not, ‘I need to leave him. Now.’ I later learned he was still contacting her. I was done.”
“She told me she cried herself to sleep one Christmas because she saw the way my eyes lit up when I opened the Princess Jasmine pajamas. She was so happy for me, but she knew she didn’t get them. She wasn’t the reason my eyes lit up – it was because of a stranger.”
“Today, we focus on our careers, raising our own kids, getting away when we can. Our extended family isn’t the center it once was and if a reunion were planned, most wouldn’t bother to come. Besides, we keep in touch on social media. Family meant something back then.”
“After losing my mom, I once again feel like that lost little girl in the department store, like the whole world has collapsed. Only this time, no amount of screaming, crying, begging will bring her back. Not a day goes by I don’t recall her. A taste, a smell, a word, a touch. When all else fails, I turn to the memories. But I literally cannot cry, cannot shed a single tear, without also smiling. THAT is the kind of love she left behind.”
“I glanced at it quickly and with confusion as the name it listed as my father was definitely not my dad. I had no idea who this person was. It was 1:03 in the morning when my world started to crash.”
“That year, many of our friends and family were struck by cancer. After he told me about this diagnosis, my dear neighbor said to me, ‘Jess, everyone asks me how long I have to live. Instead of answering their question, I ask, ‘How long do YOU have left to live?’ Tomorrow is never guaranteed.’ My husband and I pondered that question for hours that night. It became clear to us WE were not truly living.”
