I still mother them….

Last night I had one of those moments that filled my whole soul.

There is a certain sense of pride that comes with walking into an event, looking around, and seeing Face the Facts Delaware on a table. Not because I need to see our name anywhere, but because I know what that name represents. I know the people behind it. I know the losses behind it. I know the love, the hours, the tears, the conversations, the people we have helped and the village that has grown around us.

Last night we were celebrating Heart of Holli, an organization that came from Jen’s loss of Holli, her person.

All evening, I listened to people talk about Holli. I listened to them talk about Jen. I listened to people talk about the incredible work Heart of Holli is doing and the lives they are touching.

And then came a moment I wasn’t expecting.

During the co-founder’s remarks, she talked about attending our Overdose Awareness Day and watching Jen release a dove in memory of Holli.

She talked about how emotional it was to witness that moment.

And there I sat, listening to someone from the outside describe a moment from our event as something so beautiful and meaningful that it stayed with her.

That got me.

Because when you are the person planning the event, you don’t always get to see it that way.

You are worrying about tables and chairs. You are checking on speakers. You are making sure everyone has what they need. You are answering questions, putting out fires, watching the clock and thinking about the 400 things that still need to happen.

You know why the dove release matters. You know every one of those doves carries a name, a face, a family and a story.

But sometimes you are so close to the work that you don’t get to stand back and see what everyone else sees.

Last night, for just a few minutes, I got to do that.

I got to hear someone else describe the beauty of a moment we helped create.

A moment where Jen could honor Holli.

A moment where grief and love existed in exactly the same space.

A moment that someone else witnessed and carried home with them.

And sitting there listening, I felt such an incredible sense of pride. Not pride in myself. Pride in all of us. Pride in Face the Facts Delaware. Pride in every volunteer, every partner, every person who shows up and believes these moments matter.

And pride in Jen.

Because Heart of Holli is another example of what can happen when someone takes a loss that could have completely swallowed them and finds a way to carry that person’s name forward while helping someone else.

That is what this community does.

We remember their names.

We tell their stories.

We show up for one another.

And somehow, in the middle of all that loss, we keep creating moments of love that other people notice, remember and carry with them.

Last night I got to see a tiny piece of Face the Facts Delaware through somebody else’s eyes.

And it filled my whole soul. ❤️