In 2011, without warning, my whole world came crashing down around me.
When I lost my 22 month old daughter and husband in a car accident, it didn’t matter who was in the White House. When my world was falling apart, what political party controlled Congress wasn’t relevant.
The thought didn’t even cross my mind.
Want to know what mattered?
People.
People mattered most.
I didn’t see color and I didn’t see sexual orientation. I didn’t see their religion or their political party.
I saw love.
I thought it was important to make this post on this World Kindness Day. Because the kindness of people has the ability to make a profound impact on someone’s life today. We have more power than we know.
In 2011, I was in a car accident that took the life of my daughter Hailey and my husband Troy. It was the darkest period of my life and I often wondered how I would survive.
If anything good came out of such a tragedy, it was this:
The power of kindness of the people closest to me changed my world.
Childhood friends, family friends and friends I didn’t even know yet all mobilized with every effort to help heal my hurt. And while not everyone said exactly the right things every time – one message rang true. They cared enough to try to ease my pain.
One of the most thoughtful gifts given to me during this time was provided by a family who had experienced a loss like mine. After my family’s funeral, I was given a locket.
Inside the locket, I kept a strand of my baby’s beautiful red hair. And I wore it around my neck for the longest time. It helped me feel close to her. It gave me hope and courage to go on.
The President of the United States didn’t give me that hope. Congress didn’t call to offer condolences. My political party didn’t send flowers.
PEOPLE did.
There is a lesson we can learn here.
We as Americans truly have the power to change the trajectory of our world. Because we have the power to make a profound influence on the lives of REAL PEOPLE. The people closest to us. The people we see every day.
We have more power than we know. If we want to change our world, we have to change the way we impact the world. We have to change how we impact the people closest to us.
Policies will come and go and policies will change. Leadership will change. We will be fed a new “outrage” every week. We can’t change that.
What CAN we change?
We can change US. We can CHOOSE.
Choose to be kind. Choose to love people that don’t agree with us. And Choose to help all people in the darkest days of their life.
Someone gave me a gift of love once. And it changed the way I looked at the world. Because of that gift, I decided I wanted to do something that would comfort someone else in the darkest period of their life.
And my daughter’s Hailey Hugs Initiative will continue to do just that – regardless of who is in the White House. No matter what political party dominates Congress.
As long as I am able to choose LOVE, I will.
Today I am announcing the release of Hailey’s second book, A Christmas to Remember. My prayer is that the book will help comfort those families who are grieving loss during the holiday season.
The picture book brings to life the words of my poem, A Christmas to Remember. It shows how we can find comfort and peace during the darkest moments of life.
The book is available for purchase on Amazon. All proceeds benefit the Hailey Hugs Initiative.
Jennifer (Hallam) Francis is the mother of Hailey Hallam and author of A Hug Through the Air, which she wrote in memory of her daughter.
A Hug Through the Air tells the story of a connection between a family that transcends Heaven and Earth. The book has brought comfort to grieving families around the nation.
Francis was born in East Liverpool, Ohio and is a graduate of East Liverpool High School. She graduated Mount Union College in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Media Studies.
She started her career as a newspaper journalist in East Liverpool and also worked in Butler County, Pennsylvania.
In 2011, following her daughter’s death, she asked her longtime friend, Kacey Francis, to illustrate A Hug Through the Air. The two married in 2014 and live in East Liverpool, Ohio.
Francis runs the Hailey Hugs Initiative which donates Hailey Hugs Bundles to grieving families. Hailey Hugs Bundles include a copy of A Hug Through the Air and a stuffed animal. They have been distributed to hospitals to help families dealing with loss. Bundles have also been mailed nationwide in an effort to comfort those dealing with loss.
She is the personality for Todd Sparkle Market, a four store grocery chain in Ohio and West Virginia.
Francis lives in East Liverpool with her husband and their three children, Christian, Emma and Lauren.
Jennifer is an Avon Representative Online and is ranked #1 in the nation for helping people sell Avon Online . She is also a top seller, helping her customers shop the Avon Catalog Online Jennifer is the owner of Timeless Beauty Life.
