Woman Thanks Ex-Boyfriend's Kid For Making Her Feel Loved
Jen and her brother, Todd, were just 10 and 12 years old when their father began dating Shirley Norton. It was 1986. Their love affair was short-lived, lasting only a year.
And while it may have been brief, it left an impact that stayed with Shirley until she died.
Eighteen years later, Jen received a phone call out of the blue. It was from a bank manager, informing her that Shirley had bequeathed $50,000 each to her and her brother. But in addition to the inheritance, Shirley also left behind a note.
A Random Phone Call
@intoxicatedinsights69 Absolutely gut wrenching story! Step parents truly are angels on earth. Thank you guys for all that you do. Thank you to the endlessly fascinating Jen, for sharing this story with us. Full episode is out. Link in bio
Jen recently shared her story on her podcast, Intoxicated Insights. She also posted a clip of the episode on TikTok where it has gone viral, garnering more than 2 million views, 237,000 likes, and nearly 5,000 comments.
"I get a random phone call, this is like 2004, I have two small children," she explained to her co-host Sage.
"I get this random call from this woman from Utah who's a bank manager telling me that one of my dad's ex-girlfriends has passed away and left me and my brother $50,000 each."
Jen via TikTok
Initially, she thought she was being punked. It took the bank manager more than half an hour to finally convince Jen to provide her address.
She explained to Sage that the woman the bank manager called her about was "legit" one of her father's ex-girlfriends and they had only dated for one year before he broke up with her. But throughout that year, Shirley took care of Jen, buying her clothes, decorating her room, and being "absolutely sweet" to her.
Jen remembers the day Shirley left. She begged Shirley to take her with her.
"I might have seen her like maybe one or two more times but my dad got a new girlfriend and that was that."
Until 18 years later...
When Jen received the mail from the bank manager she discovered that in addition to the cash, Shirley had also left behind a two-page letter.
Jen has held onto that letter for 20 years.
The Letter From Her Father's Ex-Girlfriend
Jen's father's ex-girlfriend bequeathed $50,000 each to her and her brother. But in addition to the inheritance, she also left behind a note.
Youtube/intoxicatedinsights
Holding back tears, Jen read Shirley's letter aloud:
"Dear Todd and Jenny, I bet you both are asking yourself, who is she?" the letter began.
"I met you and your father in 1986 when you were about 10 and 12 years old. You each made a remarkable impact on me. You were both great kids. You were friendly and made me feel welcome in your lives."
To further jog the siblings' memories, Shirley wrote that at the time Jen wanted to be an actress and own a pink Ferrari. She talked about going to SeaWorld and spending Thanksgiving at Lake Tahoe. She reminisced about Knotts Berry Farm and eating dinner together on the Queen Mary.
"Todd, when we went to Circus Circus, you won a little stuffed lion for me," she added. "I still have it."
And when Jenny went to camp? She made Shirley a wall hanging out of a pie plate. "I still have it too," Shirley wrote.
"I never had any children of my own," she added. "But for that one year you made me feel like I was part of your family."
Cue the tears.
Shirley also shared in the letter that she'd had a kidney transplant in 1992. "This gift of life gave me many extra years so I could enjoy this amazing world."
She ended the letter, writing: "I had a good life. I would like to make your life a little easier and more secure. I pray you both have wonderful lives. P.S. Jenny, please don't buy a pink Ferrari," she joked before adding, "But if you really want one, buy it."
"We don't always know the impact we make on someone's life"
@intoxicatedinsights69 Replying to @AileneTH jen says thank you!
The money came at a time when Jen needed it most. In a follow-up TikTok she explains her son had just been diagnosed with autism.
"At the time my youngest son had just got diagnosed with autism and so the money was great because I paid for a lot of therapies for him."
She also shared that the family moved "and it did make my life a lot better." (Although she never did get that pink Ferrari).
But it's the letter that is truly priceless.
"The letter was the best. I've held onto it for all these years. I read it, it's sad, and it always touches my heart."
Jen via TikTok
It's also touched the hearts of more than 2 million TikTok viewers.
"Perfect example that we don’t always know the impact we make on someone’s life. She never forgot you," one commenter wrote.
"Omg I’m sobbing 😭.. that was so so sweet," wrote another. "All the memories she still had of the kids ❤️❤️"
A third said, "As an adult child of divorce who’s Dad had many girlfriends that I loved but never got to say goodbye to, this helped to heal me. Maybe they loved me as much as I loved them."
Sometimes people aren't meant to stay in our lives. They are there for a short time and then they're gone. But just because they are no longer with us, it doesn't mean they are forgotten.
Shirley never forgot the time she spent with Jenny and Todd, even two decades later. Her generous bequest and heartfelt letter were a testament to the deep impact their brief connection had on her life.
It's also a sweet reminder that blood isn't what binds a family together. It's love, no matter how briefly we get to share it.
*Featured image contains photo by cottonbro studio
Who Do You Think You Are?
Ah -- that blessed, belittling interrogative. The one with the power to shoot you down in a second; make a comedy of your greatest life aims in minutes; prevent you from telling anyone about your achievements for months; turn you into a person who apologizes for every accomplishment while branding it "self-deprecation" for life.
Because when someone asks you who you think you are, how do you respond?
Most likely with fear.
Fear of sounding too self-important. Fear of being "full of yourself." Fear that if you dare stand tall and say exactly who you think you are, you will be laughed at and dismissed as a "dreamer"...
Who Do You Think You Are?
Here is the issue: we 21st-century citizens are conflicted by a desire to share with the world the best, proudest aspects of our lives, while not wanting to appear special or better than anyone else.
Reality check: you are not better than anyone else – nor is anyone better than you. We all came onto this planet as human beings and are therefore fundamentally equal.
However, here's the second reality check: you are special. This much is undeniable. You have something to give that somebody else could never give, just as much as they have a gift you could never bear.
Knowing that you are special does not make you self-important; it makes you self-aware.
The good news? People are asking you who you think you are because you are daring to do/say/practice things that are perceivably bigger than yourself. This can intimidate people, because you're exceeding whatever limits they've set up for you in their minds. So, for people to be asking you this dazzling compliment shrouded as an insult, who exactly do you think you are...?
I'll tell you who I think you are.
Someone who no longer puts up with adequacy
You once accepted half-hearted adequacy from your peers so that peace could be kept. As long as you were doing the right job, why bother over what others are doing? It's their business, you once thought. But now you know that, as Viola Davis once put it, "You only get better by working with people who are excellent." If your team isn't excellent, neither will you be — and you won't grow.
Therefore you're no longer afraid of conflict with those who choose to be only adequate. Naturally they'll ask you who you think you are because it's easier than rising to the high bars you set. Realize you are doing the right thing and continue; if you persist unapologetically towards excellence, people will either quit or come around eventually. Move forward regardless.
Someone who speaks up for what they believe in
People ask you who you think you are when you dare to voice your opinion. As a result of speaking up for your beliefs, especially if they go against the grain, you're going to experience backlash. Nonetheless, if you are speaking for what is right – not offending others unnecessarily – then you are doing what you were sent here to do. So many people submerge their opinions – and rightly they should, if any of those attitudes target anyone based on their gender, race, sexuality, religion, or any other factor they cannot control. But if you are voicing your beliefs from a place of profound passion about something you love, or an injustice you hate, then you are on the right track.
Beware, however, that as a consequence people will ask – albeit under their breath, "Who you think you are?" Why? Because they haven't yet found the courage in themselves to speak up for what they believe in. More often than not, they are, as Erin Elizabeth expressed it, the "people in this world that will stay quiet while surrounded by ten people talking crap about their best friend." Draw confidence from the fact that you are not one of them.
Someone with big dreams
The inspiration for this article came from the biggest dreamer I know: Oprah Winfrey. In an interview with Brené Brown, Oprah admitted that the one shame-gremlin-message that has followed her throughout her entire career has been "Who do you think you are?" -- not from herself, but rather from what was reflected to her by other people. Because as a "little black girl from Mississippi" commanding millions of dollars a year from The Oprah Winfrey Show, she surpassed every limit her ex-bosses, coworkers, family members and members of the public had set up for her.
As the people with the biggest dreams, we will always be asked who we think we are.
Why? Because we are dangerous. Because we are unafraid of failure. Because while other people may have doubts about our abilities, we never listen. We simply accept feedback where useful, reject what isn't and then move forward. We persist. We are, in the words of Les Brown, "An uncommon breed."
And because of this we are going to be laughed at. We are going to be mocked. We are going to be told again and again that we are setting ourselves up for lives of poverty and disappointment.
We are going to be asked repeatedly: "Who the hell do you think you are?"
And now you know what to tell them in response.