This past summer, when I was fighting breast cancer and going back and forth for my reconstruction appointments at Mass General, Evelyn and Grace would drop macarons from the Petticoat Row Bakery on my front porch. They were Grace’s favorite and they are also my favorite, and Grace liked to get them for me because she knew I was sick and that I was busy getting better and that the macarons made me happy. Grace wanted everyone in her world to be happy and well. She had an uncanny sense of people, even adults, especially adults. Her kind and concerned manner, her empathy, belied her years.
Christmas Stroll is a magical time on Nantucket Island, and I will always love it. However, it will never be the same for me after losing my young friend. I loved her, she is gone, and I miss her. I marvel at the fortitude and the faith of her parents and her two brothers. For all of you readers who have children, I humbly ask you this: Please hug them a little harder tonight for Grace, kiss them one more time tonight for Grace.
Life is so, so precious.
Merry Christmas.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elin Hilderbrand made a paper angel ornament in third grade that is still in her family’s custody. She celebrates the holidays by making batches of mustard and chive pine-nut dip and gifting them to her friends. Her favorite carol is “O Holy Night.” Winter Stroll is her sixteenth novel.
elinhilderbrand.net/
