Jolt of Sadness

 

Yesterday, I felt a jolt of extra sadness.  I've spent years collecting #StuffMyGirlSays —funny, wise, ridiculous, totally Jess things she would come up with—my way of sharing all the little gems and joy that made being her mom so special. But yesterday, it hit me—there won’t be any new ones. Sure, I wrote down so many that I’ll probably still find a few I forgot, which will feel like treasures. But there won’t be “new” new ones. And that realization made me sad.

I then noticed that I have been keeping memes, stories, and pictures in a folder called "Jess Inspired," and it dawned on me that this is what I want to do next. I can't collect more #StuffMyGirlSays, but I can always be #JessInspired! This led me to use it as a new hashtag to talk about Jess.

It wasn’t just about the stuff she said—it was about how she saw the world, what made her laugh, what made her mad (lol, emptying the dishwasher), and how she was. And that doesn’t have to stop. What if we encourage her memory to keep inspiring us?

#JessInspired is for anything that reminds you of her. The things that make you think, "Jess would have loved this!" or "Jess would have had something to say about this."  It’s for those little sparks of joy, curiosity, kindness, creativity, or even chaos that feel like her energy is still around. You can count on me to be doing so, And I don’t want to do this alone—I want you in on it.

If something reminds you of Jess, let me know! Use the hashtag, send me a message, stop me in the grocery store—whatever. Whether it’s tomorrow, next year, or 10 years from now, I want to keep hearing about her and seeing how she keeps rippling through the world. Because while there won’t be any more #StuffMyGirlSays, there will always be #JessInspired. Please keep it coming.

😊♥