Day 30
I wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for the incredible love and support of my family and friends. That sounds like such a bullshit cliché thing to say, but it’s the absolute truth.
Clarence and Sarah Samuelson bring us food from their restaurant every single day—and they stay long enough to make sure we eat some of it. Keith and I aren’t cooking and wouldn’t be—and we wouldn’t even be eating if it weren’t for Sarah and Clarence. They’ve known heartbreak and tragedy and they know how to help those dealing with it.
My fitness friend Rake Sabin comes by a few times a week and forces me to go for a walk or a bike ride with him. I go kicking and screaming all the way but always feel better when I get back.
My bookish friend Wren brings me the best books on grief and loss and even books on missing children and how to deal with law enforcement agencies.
Derinda, Keith’s mom, who has always been super supportive, has kicked into overdrive. She’s truly amazing—the kind of mother every gay son should be lucky enough to have. Our adoption agent Demi Gonzalez and Magdalene’s foster parents Brent and Charis Tremblay have organized a search team for Magdalene, and Derinda hasn’t missed a single outing.
Vic Frankford, our friend who owns the grocery store in town, brings by bags of food and household items at least twice a week.
There are others too—friends and family who help us in big and small ways.
And there are the strangers. We have received kindnesses beyond what I am able to describe from strangers. Cards, messages, emails, donations, care packages from people we will never even meet. It’s staggering. And it gives me a hope for humanity that Keith says I am foolish to have.