About the Author

Hi, I’m Jill! I am a wife, mother of two, and teacher to many. On October 11, 2014, I lost my father, very unexpectedly. He was returning from a golf trip in Myrtle Beach and while riding as a passenger in his friend’s car, he drifted off to sleep, and never woke up. To say our family was devastated would be an understatement. Losing anyone close to you can completely turn your world upside down; but when it’s sudden and unexpected, it brings grief to a new level. There were no goodbyes, no opportunities to say anything...

Throughout the following months after his passing, I would see cardinals almost everywhere. It was like they were coming just for me. I had never seen so many cardinals before. It sounded crazy, so I kept that to myself for a bit. Then I started doing a little bit of reading about how cardinals are said to be signs of loved ones after they pass; some people believe that they are the messengers between the living and spiritual world. Maybe it meant something after all?

Cardinals then became my sign that my dad was still around, checking in and making sure everyone was ok. Trying to not only go through the grief process myself, but be a good daughter to my mom who was grieving the loss of her husband, and a mother trying to explain this to my 3-year-old and 5-year-old, was absolutely taxing. But as time went on, I held that sign of the cardinal very close to my heart...

Fast forward a few years... During the 2020 Pandemic, I was teaching virtually due to emergency distance learning. Although I couldn’t see my students in person, I made every effort to reach them virtually as often as I could. During quarantine that spring, I learned that one of my students had lost his grandfather. His grandfather had lived with him, so the family was very close. My student, “Dylan”, was so very sad, and as a 6-year-old, was not processing the death of his grandfather. How can you at that age? This threw me right back into those feelings of trying to explain death and grief to my own children. So many feelings and emotions, so little understanding.

The school counselor and I held a virtual meeting to check in on Dylan and his brother to see how they were doing. We wanted to offer them a safe place to talk about their feelings. Knowing what they were going through, I wanted to share my personal experience to hopefully help them in some small way. I told them my story about losing my dad, encouraging Dylan and his brother to watch for a sign that makes them feel like their grandfather is close by. As I was sharing my story about how cardinals are my sign, the school counselor’s jaw began to drop. She said, “Mrs. Lynch you’ll never believe what is happening outside my window right now. While you’re talking about cardinals being a sign of your dad, two cardinals just came swooping into my yard!” She turned her computer around to show us the cardinals, and there they were! At this point, I was crying ugly tears to my school counselor and two students. Dylan’s older brother then shared that when he goes outside and looks up at the stars in the sky, he thinks of his grandfather. He got what I was trying to say… that’s his sign.

As I hung up from our virtual call, I realized that I needed to share my story. As a mom and a teacher, it’s my job to explain complex concepts in smaller, easier to understand pieces. After this experience, I felt that I needed to share this difficult journey in a way that children could understand because, unfortunately, it’s a part of life.

Although everyone processes grief and loss differently, I truly believe that when you lose a loved one, they are still around.

Pop Pop’s Bird is being told from the perspective of my daughter Addison. She tells the story of losing her Pop-Pop and how we as a family found our way through the heartache and sadness of losing someone we love. I hope this story helps to ease the pain just a little bit, and to help you find your sign.