One grandma’s Christmas was looking lonely, so she put out an ad to join a family for the big day – and someone responded.
Some of us take the festive season for granted. For many, it’s a time of togetherness – spending time with loved ones, enjoying each other’s company, munching on food and drinking mulled wine.
However, not everyone has the same privilege. As friends and family unite, others are left on their own. Fortunately, this grandma, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, will have company this year.
One evening, Carson Carlock was scrolling through Craigslist. ‘I go through the free part of Craigslist pretty often just looking for stuff, because sometimes people give away stuff for free,’ he told KRON4.
However, one advert wasn’t selling something. ‘I saw that post… and I was like, you know that’s really sad,’ he said. It was simply titled: ‘Anybody need a grandma for Christmas?’
The advert read:
I have nobody and would really like to be part of a family. I cook and I can cook dinner. I’ll even bring food and gifts for the kids! I HAVE NOBODY AND IT REALLY HURTS! Let me be part of your family.
That last sentence tugged on Carson’s heartstrings, reminding him of his own mother, Gail, who died last year from stage four cancer after spending her last Christmas alone.
Carson said:
You know, that really broke my heart reading that because my mom was alone on her last Christmas. She went to church a lot, she loved her grandchildren. She was upset and she was alone, there wasn’t anything I could do.
She would want me to be the kind of person to do this for other people.
Before Carson reached out though, the post was attracting vicious hate, with lots of people sending nasty messages to the grandma. She inevitably posted an update, thanking everyone for ‘the extra shot of pain’ before deleting the ad.
‘I don’t want anyone else to feel that way,’ he said. So, Carson reached out on his own with an ad looking for the grandma.
Carson wrote:
I just want you to know that you aren’t alone… If you find yourself wanting to be a part of a family on Christmas, just reach out.
After thousands of shares, Carson managed to find Grandma Carrie. On Facebook, he wrote: ‘She is so wonderful and I will be seeing her Christmas Day. Thank you guys so much for your support and love.’
Merry Christmas, Grandma Carrie!
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.