{"id":16172,"date":"2026-05-21T00:24:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/?p=16172"},"modified":"2026-05-21T00:24:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:24:02","slug":"my-dil-told-my-grandson-to-stop-calling-me-grandma-then-during-his-school-play-he-slipped-a-note-into-my-hand-that-said-please-dont-let-mommy-see-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/?p=16172","title":{"rendered":"My DIL Told My Grandson to Stop Calling Me Grandma \u2013 Then During His School Play, He Slipped a Note Into My Hand That Said, ‘Please Don’t Let Mommy See This’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After my son died, I tried to hold on to the one part of him I still had left: my grandson. But as grief hardened into distance and a new man began reshaping our family around his own rules, I started to realize that memory itself had become something fragile, contested, and worth fighting for.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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People talk about silence like it’s peaceful. It isn’t. Silence can sit at your kitchen table while the coffee goes cold and remind you who isn’t coming back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My son Daniel died in December.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The only living piece of him I had left was Noah.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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He was 32. He left behind a seven-year-old son named Noah, a wife named Rachel, and me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For months after the funeral, I kept thinking I heard him at my back door. Daniel never used the front. He’d come in carrying groceries, calling for food, with Noah racing in behind him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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After Daniel died, the back door stayed shut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The only living piece of him I had left was Noah.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He had Daniel’s eyes, the crooked smile, and the same way of trying not to cry, like he could hold his feelings in place if he frowned hard enough.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He loved that phrase because Daniel had loved it first.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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In those first months, Rachel still let me help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I brought casseroles nobody tasted. I folded laundry that never seemed to end. I picked Noah up from school when Rachel said she was too tired to drive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Noah still ran to me then.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Grandma!”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“There is my brave little boy.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Was Daddy brave?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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He loved that phrase because Daniel had loved it first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One afternoon in my car, Noah asked, “Did Daddy really say that all the time?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“All the time.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Even when I was little?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“Especially then.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He looked out the window.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Was Daddy brave?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He nodded like he was storing the answer somewhere safe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“Yes.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Even when he was scared?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“That’s when it matters most,” I said. “Being brave means you keep loving anyway.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He nodded like he was storing the answer somewhere safe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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At home that night, Rachel leaned against the counter while I stirred noodles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He asks about Daniel every night,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She laughed without humor.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“Of course he does.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He cries if I say too much.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He cries because he misses his father.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She rubbed her forehead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“And then he can’t sleep.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“Rachel, he’s seven. Missing his father isn’t a mistake.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She laughed without humor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then spring came, and Rachel met Brent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“Everyone says that like it helps.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“It doesn’t help,” I said. “It just explains why everything feels impossible.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For a while, that was our rhythm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then spring came, and Rachel met Brent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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By late spring, his shoes were beside the door where Daniel’s boots used to sit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The first visit after Brent started spending most nights there, Noah ran toward me on instinct.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Grandma!”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He stopped so fast he looked afraid.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Before I could bend down, Rachel said, “Noah. We talked about this.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He stopped so fast he looked afraid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Brent stood in the kitchen, easy and confident.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“Listen to your mom, buddy,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rachel looked at Noah, then at me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“You need to stop calling her that.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Noah stared at the rug.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“Calling me what?” I asked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Grandma.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The room went still.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Rachel, I am his grandmother.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She crossed her arms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Brent and I are trying to build something stable. It confuses Noah when everything keeps circling back.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Noah stared at the rug.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I brought dinner anyway, but Rachel said they had already ordered.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m not confused,” he said softly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Brent laughed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Kids do better when adults don’t make everything so heavy.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I looked at him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Daniel wasn’t heavy. He was Noah’s father.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I brought dinner anyway, but Rachel said they had already ordered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I left with the casserole still warm in my hands.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Noah asked if I could stay for one story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said no.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His face folded in that quiet way Daniel’s used to.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I wanted to reach for him. Rachel stepped closer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“Please don’t make this harder,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I left with the casserole still warm in my hands.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Visits became 10 minutes on the porch.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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After that, everything got smaller.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Visits became 10 minutes on the porch. Then five. Then Rachel stopped opening the door all the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Is Noah home?” I would ask.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He’s tired.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“I brought soup.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“We already ate.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then I saw a photo online.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“Can I just tell him I love him?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Not today.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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One afternoon, I heard Brent say from inside, “Rachel, we said boundaries.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I looked past her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Boundaries from his grandmother?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She flinched.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two weeks later, I ran into Noah’s music teacher, Mrs. Alvarez, at the grocery store.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“From anything that keeps him stuck,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then I saw a photo online.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Brent stood behind Noah in the yard, both of them wearing matching baseball caps. The caption said, “My boys. New beginnings.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I shut my laptop and stood in my kitchen with nowhere to direct my anger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two weeks later, I ran into Noah’s music teacher, Mrs. Alvarez, at the grocery store.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She smiled, then hesitated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My hand tightened around a can of soup.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“We’re excited about the school play Friday,” she said. “Noah’s been practicing his solo.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My hand tightened around a can of soup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“The school play?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Her face changed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I thought you knew.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“No.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“I thought someone in his family should know.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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She lowered her voice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m telling you because he got upset in music class today. Another child mentioned Father’s Day songs, and Noah asked whether people disappeared for good if nobody said their names anymore.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“What did you tell him?” I asked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I told him names are always allowed in a music room.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She touched my arm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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When Noah walked onto the stage, he scanned the crowd, found me, and smiled.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“I thought someone in his family should know.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So I went to the play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I sat in the back row with my coat still on and my hands locked in my lap.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When Noah walked onto the stage, he scanned the crowd, found me, and smiled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It was small, but real.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His solo started shaky, then grew stronger, as if seeing me had brought him confidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Noah ran straight to me.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Afterward, the children rushed into waiting arms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Noah ran straight to me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Grandma!”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I caught him before I lost my balance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m here, sweetheart.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I knew you would come.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’ll always come if I can.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He stepped back, but his eyes stayed on my hand.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Before Rachel reached us, he pressed something folded into my palm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Please don’t let Mommy see this,” he whispered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rachel’s heels clicked down the hall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Noah, come here. Brent is waiting.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He stepped back, but his eyes stayed on my hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“What did he give you?” she asked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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From farther down the hall, Brent called for her.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I closed my fingers around the paper.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“A program.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Let me see it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From farther down the hall, Brent called for her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rachel took Noah’s hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We’ll talk about this later.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I didn’t open the note until I was in my car with the doors locked.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Noah looked back at me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I gave him the smallest nod I could.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I didn’t open the note until I was in my car with the doors locked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My hands shook so hard I could barely unfold it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Noah’s uneven handwriting were six words:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Grandma, I want to come home.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I called Rachel that night.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I turned the paper over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On the back, he had written:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He says I can’t talk about Daddy anymore.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I leaned against the steering wheel and whispered, “Home.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I knew he didn’t mean a house.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He meant the place where Daniel was still allowed to exist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I called Rachel that night.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Noah gave me a note.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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She picked up already angry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“What?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Noah gave me a note.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Silence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“What note?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“He wrote that he wants to come home.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Her voice went cold.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She exhaled sharply.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“You had no right to corner him at school.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“He ran to me.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“You showed up where you weren’t invited.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I showed up because I found out from his teacher, not from you.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“That should tell you something.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“It tells me you’re keeping him from people who love him.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She exhaled sharply.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“You think love fixes this? You come in with your stories and casseroles, then I’m the one left up all night with a child crying for a man I can’t bring back.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“Who told him he can’t talk about his father anymore?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Rachel.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Finally she said, “Brent said structure would help. He said every time Daniel comes up, Noah spirals.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She started crying.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“Silencing Daniel isn’t help,” I said. “He survives by telling the truth, not by pretending his father never lived.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She started crying.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“You don’t live here.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“No,” I said. “But Daniel did. Noah’s father did.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“You’re making this worse.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m asking to see my\u00a0grandson<\/a>.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The line went dead.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“And I’m saying no.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The line went dead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My first instinct had failed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Confronting her had only made her shut the door harder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So I stopped calling.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I took down the old memory box and found photos, hospital bracelets, Daniel’s favorite sweatshirt, and a letter he wrote after Noah was born.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I wrote about Daniel singing the wrong words to every song on the radio.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Mom, promise me he’ll always know where he comes from.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I started writing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I wrote about Daniel singing the wrong words to every song on the radio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I wrote about the Saturday pancakes he always burned and served anyway because Noah liked the crunchy parts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I wrote about Daniel calling Noah his brave little boy after every shot, every fever, every hard day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I wrote about ordinary love.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Three days later, Mrs. Alvarez called me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I hope this isn’t inappropriate,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“What happened?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Noah got upset in music class today. Brent was picking him up, and Noah mentioned his father. Brent told him, right there in the hall, that Daddy stories were a bad habit. Rachel was with them.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rachel hadn’t become cruel overnight.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Did she hear him?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Yes,” she said. “And I don’t think she knew he had been saying things like that.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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That mattered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rachel hadn’t become cruel overnight. She had become frightened, exhausted, and easy to influence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Brent had stepped into that fear and fed it something ugly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then I mailed Rachel one page at a time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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He had turned keeping Daniel’s memory alive into something that’s not allowed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So I copied Daniel’s letter and put it at the front of a notebook filled with stories about him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then I mailed Rachel one page at a time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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No accusations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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No pleading.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the bottom of every page, I wrote the same line:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Noah deserves both his future and his father.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n

My hands shook as I answered.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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The first week, I heard nothing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The second week, two envelopes came back unopened.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Then one didn’t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Five days later, Rachel texted me for the first time in months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Did Daniel really call him ‘brave little boy’?<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My hands shook as I answered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

When I opened the door, Rachel held one of my pages in her hand.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Every day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Three weeks after the play, I heard a car pull into my driveway just before dinner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Rachel got out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Noah stood beside her with his backpack clutched to his chest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Brent sat behind the wheel, stiff and motionless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When I opened the door, Rachel held one of my pages in her hand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

He ran into me, and this time no one stopped him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“He asked for you,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Can I call you Grandma again?” Noah asked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

I opened my arms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Always.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He ran into me, and this time no one stopped him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I held him so close I thought my ribs might break.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n

From the curb, Brent got out of the car.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rachel wiped her eyes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I thought moving on meant leaving things behind,” she said. “I thought if I let him keep talking about Daniel, he’d never be okay.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

“Love isn’t what keeps a child trapped,” I said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

From the curb, Brent got out of the car.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n

“Rachel, we talked about this.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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“I know,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n

Noah spoke before either of us could.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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He came a few steps closer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“He needs stability, not old stories making him upset again.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Noah spoke before either of us could.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n

“Daddy stories don’t make me upset all the time.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Brent’s face changed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“That’s not what I meant.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Noah lifted his chin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Rachel turned to Brent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“You said if I talked about Daddy, Mommy would cry and it would be my fault.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rachel turned to Brent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

“What did you say to him?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

He looked smaller then.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I was trying to help.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“No,” she said, her voice shaking. “You were trying to make Daniel disappear.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Brent had no answer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I was trying to be something for him.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“He already had a father,” she said. “You could’ve loved him without trying to replace him.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Brent had no answer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Rachel looked at me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I’m sorry, Margaret.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I know you were scared,” I said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Inside, I read the pancake story.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Noah looked up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Can we go inside?”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

I stepped back and opened the door.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Inside, I read the pancake story.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Noah smiled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Rachel cried.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

And when Noah asked if we could keep talking about Daniel, Rachel finally said yes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After my son died, I tried to hold on to the one part of him I still had left: my grandson. But as grief hardened into distance and a new … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16174,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16172\/revisions\/16174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}