Welcome! Please share a message or memory celebrating Melissa.
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Happy 28 earth birthdays plus 4 heaven birthdays. It’s hard to believe you would have been 32 today. We all miss you and love you so so much! We will always celebrate the joyous day you were born.
Always and forever,
Your loving parents
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I woke up from a bittersweet dream this past Sunday morning. I had gotten to hug sweet beautiful grinning Melissa while I slept that Saturday night. It was one of those dreams that was SO real and so vivid that I woke up in a panic worried it would be gone the second I tried to grasp at its receding threads.
The intro to the dream wasn’t all that interesting…I was working a long day at the hospital. People I was working with were talking about someone outside protesting (this lines up with political protests that had happened that Saturday morning in Wausau…to somewhat clarify my brains context). No one really said much, just that someone was out there protesting.
I must’ve been between procedures so I walked to the main entrance of the hospital and walked out the doors. And there standing at the bottom of some steps was…
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It doesn’t get any easier at the three-year mark of Melissa’s passing. It’s interesting and says a lot about her that in the end she was concerned about how I (Mom) would be “after.” So I try to live my life so that Melissa doesn’t worry about me. It is hard work living with only memories of her!
A way of thinking that helps me came from one of our favorite people we knew for a short time - Social Worker John at the University of Michigan Hospital. When he visited Melissa daily in the hospital, he talked with her about what he called “her story” she had written and what she hoped to write. I loved how he talked with her, truly interested in her life story; he made her feel worthwhile, important, valued. And I loved my new thinking about her life as “her story.” He had such…
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I can't believe it's been three years since I said goodbye to Melissa on April 9, 2022. Despite her physical health, she had her same infectious laugh and wonderful sense of humor that I knew and loved. Melissa was the sort of person who could make me cry with laughter after being together for a few minutes, even if we hadn't seen each other in months. That day was no exception! She was always able to find the humor in everything, even at the saddest of times, which says so much about her character.
I recently travelled to Iceland and Amsterdam and thought about Melissa a lot- its easy to get bogged down with work and busy schedules but Melissa's love of travel and being with loved ones always reminds me to make time to do the things we love. Thank you, Melissa, for giving me this gift of perspective.
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We honored Melissa’s birthday today - 28 + 3 “after” - by traveling to San Diego. She had really wanted to go to S.D. but was never able to so we did it for her! We spent Valentine’s Day with her friend, Summit, who she met in South Korea where they taught at the same school and became fast friends. It felt like we were with her too! Thank you, Summit! We love and miss our girl so much! 💔
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In November 2021, Melissa went to Washington, D.C. with her friend Cindi. When walking through a market, they saw Kamala Harris. Melissa went up to her and said, "I'm sorry. May we get a picture with you?" Kamala said, "You know, women say "I'm sorry" way too often when it's not needed. Of course, I'll take a picture with you!" I was reminded of this encounter from Rick's former boss. I love the story! I miss my daughter! I love you, Mom! 😘
This was amazing! Kamala was ordering cheese 😂 There were secret service agents with her and I was way too nervous to get her attention, so Melissa did it ☺️ also Joe was under anesthesia that day, so Melissa did technically meet the first woman President already 🥰 🇺🇸 incredibly grateful this trip happened 💕💕
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Today I thought I would share a Melissa Bird original. Melissa made these mugs for me and Kristin during college, which on the back, sport lines from a hand drawn Michigan to Wisconsin and Illinois to mark the distance it was to spend a summer apart from each other. How small of a division a Great Lake seems now. It now serves as my daily reminder that no matter how far apart we are, Melissa is always with us and lives on in our hearts. Love and miss you forever Melissa!
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I posted this on facebook today and wanted to share it here:
I thought I'd use this day to write about my friendship with Melissa because growing up she seemed to know me better than I knew myself, and so much of who I am today I owe to her. Summing up our dynamic feels daunting and reductive and she was always the better writer, but here goes.
Melissa wasn’t one friend to me but many: my study buddy and rough draft reviser, my Spotify muse, trivia nemesis, theater seater, fellow soccer defender, my prom date and every-other-school-event date. We partnered up for 10 of our 11 high school dances and shared half the hours in our day together for those four years. They were effortless times, and continued to be as we got older and our goals and interests grew in parallel. I can still recall the moment we…
Thank you, Molly, for continuing to post here. It helps so much! If you are ever in San Francisco, we would love to see you. Email - michiganbirds@gmail.com; Phone - 734/718-6174