Love Letter: Her Late Mother’s Love

The death of a parent can be a devastating and life-altering experience, especially for a child.

Genevieve Kingston, the writer of this week’s Modern Love essay, was 3 when her mother discovered that she had advanced breast cancer. Just before Ms. Kingston’s 12th birthday, her mother died, leaving behind a box of letters and gifts that she had diligently prepared before passing.

Each letter marked a milestone that her mother would miss. Over the next two decades, with each unveiled gift, Ms. Kingston found comfort in her mother’s words, knowing that she was deeply loved.

When Emily Arnold and Youssef Ait-Khouya met in 2017, neither was looking for romance. Ms. Arnold and a friend were traveling throughout Europe and decided that their next adventure would be riding camels in Morocco. Soon, they were atop camels in the Sahara with Mr. Ait-Khouya as their guide. Later that evening, the pair got better acquainted while chatting around a campfire for hours.

In the coming months, they began exchanging messages daily. Ms. Arnold returned to Morocco three more times, twice in 2018 and once in 2019, before Mr. Ait-Khouya proposed while on a trip to Bali. The couple married on April 24 at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park outside Kanab, Utah.

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The pandemic has no doubt made dating difficult for many singles. This week, the White House has made it easier to make a vaccinated love connection on your favorite dating apps. The Biden administration has enlisted the help of popular dating platforms like Match, Tinder and Bumble in an attempt to encourage more vaccinations by allowing users to share their status.