Humans of Gotham City

When I started this blog on Mother's Day, I thought it would be just a place for family and friends to share positive things about my mom. That all changed on Sunday, when a story about my mom and I was featured on Humans of New York (HONY). Because HONY is hugely popular around the world, by now hundreds of thousands of people have been introduced to my mother and her creative endeavors. If you haven't seen the post yet, you can read it below.

An unexpected part of having her story in front of such a large audience was how other people could relate to her life's struggles and connect it to their own. Although we don't ever experience the exact same thing, what was so touching was that total strangers saw something of themselves or their loved ones in our story. So many people have reached out with love and support and for many this was a moment to share their own unique stories and feel a little less alone when trying to navigate mental illness or memory loss.

Of course, a lot of people also reacted to the lighter sides of the story. People loved seeing photos of the JAMS as well as my mom's iconic envelopes. One thing that was mentioned in the HONY post, but didn't make it into the photos, was the amazing Halloween costumes that she made for me.

My mom was a superhero with the sewing machine. When I was 12, I wanted to be half Joker and half Batman. Of course, that costume didn't exist, but that didn't stop my mom from making one. I was thrilled with how it came out and felt so cool walking down the hallway in this one-of-a-kind design.

What I learned from this is a life lesson: If you want something that doesn't exist, you need to figure out a way to make it. Of course, back then I wasn't the one rolling up my sleeves and firing up the sewing machine. But hey, I was only 12 years old.