I wanted it to be the best day ever. Yes, it was.
It wasn’t the vows, the champagne, or the gorgeous arch adorned in white flowers that made it a special day.
It was Grace, not him.
My fiancé Lucas has a daughter named Grace who is 8 years old. I really liked her the first time I met her. At first, she was bashful and serious, which made her look older than she really was. It took a while to gain her trust, but it was worth it.
She would sit next to me on the couch and watch me paint my nails without saying a word. When she was intrigued about anything, she would tilt her head and ask questions in that childish voice that youngsters use when they want to learn something new.
She called me “Miss Julia” for the first six months. She held my hand in the afternoon, looked up at me with big, honest eyes, and asked, “Can I call you Mama-Jules?”
At that point, my heart split into a million pieces.
I knew that our wedding would be about more than just Lucas and me getting married; it would also be about the three of us starting a family.
I made sure Grace was involved in everything that was going on. She chose her flower girl attire, which was a light pink gown with layers of tulle that sparkled as she spun around. I was able to choose the flowers for the centerpieces with her advice. While we were eating the cakes, we made up a goofy handshake. You could see she was joyful and excited every second before the big day.
But there was one thing that I couldn’t get.
Grace wore a winter hat she had fashioned herself to the wedding in the morning.
It was a light blue tint and composed of thick yarn. It had two enormous pom-poms that dangled down like floppy ears. It wouldn’t go with her attire, the spring garden, or even the beautiful day in May.
I saw it right away as she and Lucas stepped out of the car. I smiled and bent down to her level.
I said, “Hey, sweet pea.” “That hat looks great on you.”
She nodded her head in a tiny, serious way. You have to do it.
I had to look at Lucas, who shook his head and warned me not to go after it.
So, I didn’t do it. Kids are prone to do things that don’t make sense. It might have been something she really wanted, like a blanket that made her feel safe. It could have been a present from someone special. I didn’t want to ruin the day, so I tried not to make her feel bad.
The ceremony went off without a hitch. My clothes glittered in the sun, and Lucas gazed at me like I was the most important person in the world. Grace stood behind us with her flower basket, appearing like a knight protecting something valuable.
But she kept the cap on.
The hat stayed on her head the whole time, even during the vows, the pictures, the dinner, and even when she danced with the other kids.
That was the period when I shall never forget what happened.
The band just concluded a lovely, romantic song. People laughing and drinks clinking quietly filled the room. Grace promptly walked to the middle of the room and stood there by herself with something small in her hands.
The noise died down when more people paid attention to her.
At the moment, Lucas and I were sitting at the sweetheart table. I could see her coming toward us, her eyes on me, and her modest steps were purposeful.
She spoke quite clearly and stated, “You are a gift to me.”
I said, “Oh, sweetheart,” as I grinned and started. You didn’t have to—
Just as I was ready to finish, she pulled off her headgear.
It seemed like everyone in the room took a deep breath at the same time.
She no longer had her long, honey-colored hair. She had cut off a lot of it, but not in a clumsy or reckless way. Instead, she had done it carefully, as if someone had helped her make it neat.
She also had a lot of that hair in her hands, which was wrapped up with a silver ribbon.
She said, “For you,” and put it on my lap.
I was trying to figure her out by looking at her.
When Lucas’s hand touched mine, I felt a little shiver. His eyes sparkled. He said, “She wanted to give you the best present she could.” “She wanted to give you…” She asked you last month what she could give you that would be hers alone and something she could never lose or break.
Grace glanced up at me with a look that was honest and open. She said, “You will be my mother from now on.” “I wanted to tell you a little bit about me.” A big thing
My throat was so constricted that I could hardly breathe on my own. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
The room was completely quiet. People from all around were watching this little girl as she showed the woman who was about to marry her father a portion of herself.
I put my hands over her face and held it as I bent down. “This is the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me,” I remarked, my voice breaking. It will always make me think of good times.
For a little while, she gazed at me with the shyness she always had. Then she grinned big, which made her eyes crinkle and her cheeks get scarlet.
There was a lot of clapping in the room, but it wasn’t a loud crowd; it was actual clapping. Everyone knew they had seen something holy.
It wasn’t a show. It wasn’t about wanting to be seen.
In a nutshell, it was love.
Lucas hugged me under the fairy lights that were hanging amongst the trees as the party was ending later that night. Looking over the grass, I could see Grace playing tag with her cousins, but she had forgotten to bring her blue hat.
Someone said quietly, “She is great.”
Lucas kissed me on the forehead and whispered, “Now she is yours too.”
The whole wedding was lovely, but it was Grace’s gift of her trust, courage, and heart that made it a day they will never forget.
Sometimes love doesn’t look like flowers or diamonds shining brightly in front of you. Sometimes, the most selfless present the whole world has ever seen comes from a little girl in a crocheted hat.
Grace and I have never been apart since that day. We were already close, but that incident brought us even closer in a manner that words can’t truly convey. Not only did she offer me her hair, but she also gave me her heart.
But that wasn’t the end of our story.
Lucas and I were still talking about the time we sat on the porch and watched the sun go down, even though it had been a few weeks since then.
He said in a contemplative voice, “You know, maybe we should do something more important with what she did.”
I agreed immediately away. It’s like making a base. We could produce wigs for those who have lost their hair, especially kids who are under treatment or have alopecia. Something that makes people feel good about themselves and like them.
Grace, who had been coloring on the couch, suddenly grew very enthusiastic. “Can I help you?” she inquired. Mom, I want to make other people happy too, just like I made you happy.
The Love Wig Foundation was started because of this terrible event.
Grace transformed with time until she became the very essence of it. She helped choose all the wig styles, wrote little notes to go with each one (such “So you can smile when you wear this,” which she wrote in big letters very carefully), and spoke at events to explain why she was so pleased about the initiative.
She was only eight years old, but she already knew something that many people spend their whole lives trying to learn: true love is about giving without expecting anything in return.
Grace, who was a teenager at the time, hugged me tightly before stepping on stage at one of our charity’s events a few years later. “Look, Mom,” she said as she got closer to her mother. Believe me when I say that love makes everything better.
In that moment, I remembered once again why she was and would always be the nicest present I had ever gotten.