The Final Chapter

In the final chapter of my book, I wrote:“For every story that ends in triumph, there are others I carry like stones in my chest—secret griefs that never quite go away. For every headline or handshake, there have been heartbreaks, funerals, and phone calls I’ll never forget.”

This year tested every part of that truth.I began the school year by burying my Mommie.In December—just two days into break—I lost a student.

January took Tayshaun.

April took Trenton.

So much loss… so close together. So young. So much life still waiting to be lived.

And in the quiet moments, the questions come—

Did I give enough?

Did they know they mattered?

Did I say the things that needed to be said?

Each one is now written into the deepest pages of my life—names I will carry with me forever.I see their faces in the memories of those final goodbyes…

A beautiful young girl, our princess, resting peacefully as prayers were spoken in Spanish.

Tayshaun—grief so heavy I had to lean on my husband just to make it out.

Trenton—pure kindness—surrounded by white and orange, a room filled with both heartbreak and a kind of love that takes your breath away.

Grief changes you. It softens you. It sharpens your awareness of what truly matters. We don’t get to choose how long someone stays… but we do get to choose how we show up while they’re here.

So I will choose to love harder.

To speak life more freely.

To give more than what’s expected.

To remember—intentionally, fiercely—those we lost too soon. Because their lives mattered. Because they still matter.A nd because the impact we leave behind is often greater than we ever realize.

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