01/15/2026
I had a very different post planned for today, but wanted to share these two images instead. TW: grief
Image 1 Scarlett newborn:
Scarlett just had her first birthday and looks so much like her mom ♥️ Abbie was one of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever met. I’ve always said that my husband has a lot of really cool cousins and I love being around all of them, but Abbie held a special place in my heart. I vividly remember meeting her for the first time and we instantly connected. That’s something she was incredible at—connecting with people and truly making them feel seen. She had a tremendous amount of love to give and now we are all doing our best to continue in sharing that love with her daughter.
Image 2 Charrise during what was probably one of my first times using a real camera:
Charrise was one of my best friends in high school. We met on the golf team and, although she was a pretty terrible golfer (she’d agree), she was the best person to spend time with. We bonded over emo music and talked a lot about who the cutest boys were and which lead singer had the best guyliner. We also discussed religion and social issues, something that we would still occasionally dm about as we got older, even if we no longer spoke every day. Charrise was caring and sensitive—something I think more people should be. She never had it easy, but she still always wanted to help others, so when she eventually became a therapist, it made perfect sense. It had been a while since I heard from Charrise, so I sent her our Christmas card, knowing she’d absolutely love how goofy it was. Yesterday I received the card back and a letter from her mom informing me that she had passed away months ago.
I loved both of these women so much. I’m sad and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t also so angry that we didn’t have more time with them. I hope they both knew that they were loved deeply and left positive marks to be remembered.
“Missing is a boundless trap, you learn to love around a gap
Still, pieces of you live there in the vault
But our bodies weren’t built for grief”
