[0:00-0:36] Becca: One of the things I learned from my time doing grief work before Option B was that people are scared and don’t often ask about the final days, the final time you saw someone, your final interaction with someone."

I know for me it’s been tremendously healing to talk about the last time I saw my mom, what that was like, and I’m wondering if you would be willing—and you can definitely say no—but I’m wondering if you would be willing to share with us what your last day with Gabrielle was like.

[0:36–2:00] Michelle: Absolutely. She had played soccer over the weekend. She had hurt her arm, but not really, so we did the whole go and get the X-ray thing, and we knew it was okay but she thought the cast was really cool with the whole ace bandage around it—that she would have a war story come Monday morning.

So I let her wear the bandage to school, walked to the nurse’s office with her to say, “I think she’s okay, this might be her Oscar-nominated moment.” Then I watched her as she often did, skip down the hall to go to her second grade classroom and that was the last time I saw her.

And I will tell you there was never a time in her life where I watched her walk away and it didn’t kind of grip my heart with a little fear just because of the world we live in. Not because of what ultimately happened or who did it ironically. It was more of what we’re hearing now—that kind of that fear.

Just watching this little person gets smaller and smaller as she skipped down the hallway. But yes she had her fancy mom-wrapped ace bandage on. I’m sure with a big bow in her hair.

[2:01–2:06] Marisa: Aw, man. Thank you for sharing that.
Michelle: And thanks for asking.