We know the holidays can be extremely difficult, especially when the weight of your grief feels unbearably heavy. This week especially we invite you to remember that grief is love and it endures.
 
Katie Jones, of Zap with Love permanent jewelry, is one of our amazing event vendors and is here today to share her story of grief and love in honor of her brother Patrick.
 
On February 18, 2020 Patrick went on shift as a firefighter and at 4:14 when the alarm tones went off at Station 71 for a library fire… We didn’t know that it would his last alarm.
 
Two kids had started a fire inside the library. A handicapped woman was trapped inside so the Captain and Patrick went in to save her. 14 minutes later our world was shattered when a mayday was called, signaling that the Captain and Patrick were in danger.
 
Then a terrible radio silence as they ran out of air...
 
A rescue team went in after them both and got the Captain out.
 
But as the building started to collapse, my brother was still inside - lost, alone, and out of oxygen. For 36 hours we waited for him to be found.
 
A entire day and a half later, the crews finally found Patrick. Still to this day I can’t wrap my head around all of this…
 
Patrick is the baby in the family and the light of my life. He's the kindest, gentlest, and sweetest soul you will ever meet. His eyes are pure and his smile lights up a room.
 
He’s my best friend and my safety. He truly was my person and I was his.
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As I went through my brother's home and his belongings after his passing, I came across this note he wrote. He truly is an old soul full of wisdom. 
 
"step 1 ASK
step 2 BELIEVE
step 3 RECEIVE
  • Be grateful, visualize how it feels
  • Feel the feeling, you have it
  • Don’t focus on what you don’t have
  • Energy goes where your attention goes"
 
Shortly after, literally a spark went off when I came across Gloves for Grief!! I immediately sent a message asking what is this all about and how do I get involved??
 
I was just telling my mom that there needed something like this but never did I imagine that Gloves for Grief would be the place to find my own way of asking, believing, and receiving… Just like Patrick had written.
 
G4G has changed my life!! Terra and Ashley welcomed us with opened arms where we have just melted our hearts together on this journey through grief and love, now as a family!
 
I honor my brother by doing the things we wanted to do together, obviously under different circumstances… But things that truly just help others. Through heaven and earth I will honor him in any way possible, being the best version of myself the way he saw me, sharing our story, helping the firefighters, helping strangers in need, creating a clothing line based on his quotes, and zapping with love…
 
Growing up, Patrick would to say to our mom if she handed him a dish of food, “Did you make this with love? Well, if it's not made with love, I don't want it.”  He taught me that everything you do, you do with love.
 
So I Zap with Love for Patrick, through helping people find beauty and honor their loved ones with permanent jewelry.
 
Patrick is my hero and my heart and I will honor him forever. He gives me the strength today to keep going and to make each day count. I fight for him with love everyday of my life. I can't live without him so I will live for him. 
 
Katie Jones
 
We're grateful to Katie for sharing her story with us and for punching her pain into purpose with us. Because we're stronger together.
 
Soon we will be sharing a special opportunity to stand together in our grief and love since grief is not meant to be carried alone. It is meant to be shared.
 
To all those who make Gloves for Grief the powerful community it is, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
 
With love,
Terra & Ashley
 
If you connect with what we are doing for the grief community, we invite you to explore the ways you can join our fight and of course reach out to us directly to explore a partnership or feature.
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