The holidays can be a lonely time for many. Unfortunately, this was true for Carrie, a woman in her mid-50s and a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who posted an ad on Craigslist a couple years ago, offering to be a grandma for Christmas to a family in need.
What Was This Grandma for Christmas Offering?
Carrie, the grandma for Christmas, was offering to cook dinner for a family and even bring gifts for the children because she so desperately wanted to be part of a family celebration at Christmas.
Check out her post:
Carrie was being genuine when she shared that she did not have anyone to spend time with on Christmas. At the time, Carrie was in the midst of a battle with cancer. On tome of that, while she did have a daughter who lived nearby, her daughter would not speak to her, even during Christmas time, and her daughter refused to let Carrie be a grandma for Christmas to her granddaughter.
As you can imagine her pain, this is why she took to Craigslist to find a family that would invite her to be their grandma for Christmas. And people took notice. Images of the Craigslist add ended up on social media, and many people had something to say about it. Sadly, some people’s initial reaction to her add was unkind and hurtful, so much so that she became silent when others did reach out to her. The harsh and cruel responses assumed that Carrie was either a scammer or a fake. Others called her a parasite and suggested this “grandma for Christmas” go commit suicide. The relentless comments that said she was just trying to take advantage of a vulnerable family added salt to Carrie’s wounds. Hence Carrie’s comment thanking the commenters “for the extra shot of pain.”
But that wasn’t the end for this grandma for Christmas. Carson Carlock, a 21-year-old man at the time, saw Carrie’s post and he took a screenshot. He posted the screenshot to Facebook, saying, “Someone please let her be your grandma for Christmas.”
Here is Carson Carlocks’ post.
As you can see, initially, Carrie had removed her post and he struggled to contact her, despite more than a thousand comments and more than six thousand shares. Apparently, thousands of people were willing to help, but Carrie would not respond, being concerned that the people reaching out might be as cruel as some of the initial people who posted on social media.