Jack's backpack project: mom's perspective

This month, we got to deliver the backpacks to the local preschools, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to put into words what this moment means to me.

I spend so much time grieving over all of the things Jack will never get the chance to do. The milestones. The firsts. The ordinary little moments that I never knew would one day feel like the biggest losses.

But this was something we DID get to do together.

I remember Jack picking out his dinosaur backpack and wearing it with so much pride. I remember taking a picture of him in it, completely unaware of how much that picture would one day mean to me.

That picture is the image we used on the “Jack’s Got Your Back” keychains that you can order for your own backpack

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I also remember looking at that backpack on him and thinking, “How is this kid ever going to wear that thing without falling over?” It looked absolutely enormous on his little body.

But I guess Jack was always pretty used to doing things BIG.

What started as a small dream to support a few kiddos has somehow turned into 114 backpacks. 114 children who will get to walk through the doors of Pre-K with a backpack of their very own, feeling proud and ready to take on this brand new adventure.

And that thought gets me.

Because I can still picture Jack walking through those same doors, that giant dinosaur backpack on his little shoulders, so proud of himself and ready to tackle it all.

Today, I get to imagine 114 littles get that same start.

I wish more than anything that Jack could have been here to see what his little backpack has become.

But since he can’t be here, I’ll keep finding ways to carry him with me.

Thank you will never feel like enough to everyone who has donated, shared, volunteered, encouraged us, or simply believed in this dream. You took something that started with so much heartbreak and helped turn it into something filled with love and joy.

114 backpacks.

114 little kids who get to have that same proud moment Jack had.

And this is just the beginning.

Jack’s got your back. Always.