Indy and I are so excited to announce that we recently converted to Judaism. This has been an incredible journey, and I’ve been working toward it for almost 5 years. To be able to convert right now, at such an exciting time of year, is really special. In the Jewish tradition, the holiday season is defined by light, and we share that universal feeling of goodwill that settles over the world in December. It’s really a time when we can look for illumination in the darkness, when we hold our families a little tighter, and allow ourselves to believe that miracles—however small—are just around the corner.
For my family, and especially for my youngest daughter, Indy, that miracle arrived last week. It didn’t come in a blast of light or apparate into our kitchen; instead, it came through our front door in three massively oversized bags.
To understand why this matters so much, you have to understand Indy. She isn’t just a dreamer; she is a doer. For a long time, she’s held onto a huge goal: she wants to go on a foreign exchange program next year. She wants to see the world, to learn, and to grow. After taking enough classes that she can graduate an entire year early and striving to get exceptional grades, Indy has already been accepted into one program and is anxiously waiting to hear back from a couple of others. But acceptance letters are only half the battle. The other half is funding.
Knowing this, Indy has been attacking this goal from every angle. She works as a cashier at a fast-food restaurant, earning minimum wage, and spends her off-hours turning her room into a small factory, creating crocheted scarves and purses to sell.
I watch her work with such pride, though it is mixed with a specific kind of heartache. I want nothing more than to be side-by-side with her for every single stitch, churning out inventory. But the reality of my current cancer diagnosis is that I am not well enough to do as much as I wish I could. My heart is willing, but my body is tired. I help where I can—sewing on a button here, finishing a row of stitches there—but Indy has shouldered the bulk of the labor herself.
Even with her tireless work ethic, we hit a wall. Yarn is expensive. When you calculate the cost of materials against the sales price of a scarf, the profit margins can be slim. We crunched the numbers and realized that minimum wage shifts and crochet sales alone simply have a ceiling; they wouldn't be enough to cover the substantial costs of a year abroad.
So, we swallowed our pride and asked for help, starting a GoFundMe for her trip. The response has been nothing short of astounding. People have been so generous, donating money to help a young girl fly. That community support gave us hope, but we still worried she wouldn’t make enough and knew she had to keep her crochet business running. We’d need to maintain inventory, but every penny we spent on yarn was a penny that couldn't go toward the trip.
Then, our worries and prayers got answered through a familiar face.
I hadn’t even finished listing Indy’s latest batch of items online when I received a message from Natalie, and incredible woman I haven’t spoken to in almost a year.
Her words were cryptic, saying simply that she "had me on her heart" and felt compelled to connect. So, I quickly called her, and Natalie ended up explaining that she had some extra yarn and wondered if Indy would like it.
Indy got excited! We expected a grocery sack, perhaps a few leftover skeins from an old project that Indy would squeal over and be elated about.
But Natalie Bergevin didn’t hand over a small sack. She gifted Indy three MASSIVE black bags, overflowing with beautiful, high-quality yarn.
When Indy saw this haul of yarn, her reaction was immediate and visceral. She fell to her knees on the floor and began opening them, pulling out skeins in every color imaginable. She started sorting them right there on the rug, her hands moving quickly, her mind already racing with the patterns she could create.
Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at me. "Mama," she whispered, "this is a miracle."
I am honestly not sure if Natalie had planned to give away this yarn all along, or if she was just moved to do something sweet for a young girl working toward a dream. But that act of kindness changed everything this December. Because of her generosity, Indy now has inventory that cost her nothing but time. Every dollar she makes from these scarves is now pure profit toward her dream.
Between the GoFundMe donors, the minimum wage shifts, and now this incredible gift from a beautiful friend, Indy is finally making real headway.
This moment hit me harder than I expected.
I think if my diagnosis has taught our family anything, it is that the concept of "someday" is a luxury we can't afford to bank on. We have to do what we can right now to attain our dreams.
I want my children to be kind, fulfilled, and happy, and I’m so blessed to still be here, watching all of that unfold. I’m fighting hard for a future where I can pick up the phone next year, FaceTime Indy, and have her show me the incredible adventures she’s having on the other side of the world. I want to see her fly. And I want all of my kids to go after their dreams however they can with the moments and abilities that they have.
If you would like to see what Indy is creating with her "miracle yarn," you can find her work at www.myfireflyfashion.com.
This whole experience reminds me of something my grandma always used to say: "We need to appreciate everything right now. Otherwise, time will pass us by."
This holiday season, thanks to the kindness of friends like Natalie and a community that cares, we aren’t letting a single moment be taken for granted. We are fighting for an incredible future, one stitch at a time.
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