“With COVID, my mom couldn’t travel to me and I couldn’t travel to her. ‘How is she possibly going to transport a cake with homemade frosting 842 miles without it going bad?’ I’m never going to forget this.”
‘I heard voices. ‘Shhh, she’s coming.’ I cautiously walked in, turned the corner. ‘Surprise!’ There it was, the family cake.’: Act of kindness reminds widow ‘I am still loved’
‘Chad is still your emergency contact?’ I’m lucky to be loved by two men. Every day, I’m learning to make room in my heart.’: Widow shares emotional moment of grief, ‘I didn’t give up love, I found more’
“The receptionist had no idea running down the list of ‘catch up’ questions would leave me sitting teary-eyed in the corner.”
‘My name is Jeff. Tell me exactly what happened.’ His voice changed, his tone dripping in comfort. He guided me through the biggest crisis I’ve ever experienced.’: Widow thanks ‘hero’ dispatcher, ‘Kindness is free’
“I told my husband, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I have to call.’ The tumors were everywhere. He looked me straight in the face and said, ‘I will never forgive you.’ I was on the verge of a breakdown. We do not think of dispatchers as heroes, but that night, Jeff was mine.”
‘He met me at the door. ‘Close your eyes.’ I could tell by the eagerness in his voice, he had something delightful to show me.’: Widow recalls late husband’s emotional birthday for daughter
“He led me into the living room. I found myself dripping in anticipation. He took my hand and shuffled me to the center of the room. ‘Okay, open!’ he exclaimed. I didn’t realize I was crying until I reached up to wipe my face.”
‘We might all be going through this together, but your feelings are still unique to you. Nobody gets to tell you how to feel.’: Widow shares words of wisdom for those struggling through pandemic
“One day, my family was intact. We were running around doing all the things, laughing and joking and being busy. The next, it was shattered. On Thursday, June 23, 2016, my husband was alive, and on Friday, June 24th, 2016, he wasn’t. And nothing has been the same since.”
‘Tonight, I was so tired I didn’t want to even carry my own purse. So, he did. He carried it, just like he carries so many burdens.’: 911 dispatcher says ‘sometimes, all you need is someone who will carry your purse’
“I am an ‘essential worker.’ A 9-1-1 emergency dispatcher to be exact. We’re feeling the change at work, just like all the other front-line people. I wish for you somebody who will carry your purse. Because sometimes, that’s all you really need.”
‘Both on the verge of tears one announces, ‘He smacked me.’ I check for blood, bruising. ‘She was using too much toilet paper!’: Mom shares hilarious ‘chaos’ of quarantine with multiple kids
“I was sound asleep when I suddenly hear a knock at my bedroom door. My heart jumps. The pounding in my chest gets louder. Both children are standing at the door, both upset. ‘It’s 2:30 in the morning,’ I firmly reminded them. I am trying to figure out how I can self-isolate in my closet, but they keep finding me.”
‘She didn’t want to talk about it or deal with it. Mix teen hormones in and you have a recipe for disaster.’: Widow celebrates daughter’s strength after husband’s passing, gets wink from heaven
“He wasn’t just her dad. That man was her best friend. He would have moved mountains for her. He did gymnastics with her. He let her put his very short hair in ponytails. He baked cupcakes with her, every Sunday night. And then one summer night, he died holding her hand. She woke up, crawled across the floor, pulled herself up to stand on shaky legs, and decided enough was enough.”
‘My husband and I ended up in marriage counseling over a bathroom. Yep, I said it. ‘How about aiming IN the bowl? Is it really so hard, fellas?’: Widow urges ‘don’t waste time on things that don’t matter’ after husband dies of pancreatic cancer
“My husband and I had an agreement. We would share chores, INCLUDING cleaning the bathroom. No matter how many times I lost it, wrote it on a chore list, cried, or slammed doors – it just never, ever got done unless I did it myself. I couldn’t understand, and he didn’t have a good answer. So, by God, I dug my proverbial heels in. If he wasn’t going to help me clean those bathrooms, then our-marriage-was-doomed.”
‘Who will take care of you when I’m gone?’ It froze me. We were supposed to be planning our camping trip, not his funeral.’: Widow shares touching moment of hope, ‘Don’t give up, your chocolate cake is coming’
“We were still young. His death was not supposed to happen. So, when I woke up to go work yesterday, 4 years after my husband died, I opened up my tired eyes, looked over to my nightstand, and there it was. That white cereal bowl with a slice of chocolate cake in it, left there by the one that came ‘next.’ He knew it had been a rough day. He knew I needed to have 5 whole, quiet minutes to just enjoy something that I love. Because he gets it. He really gets it.”
