A funeral or an obituary (讣告）is traditionally how we honor those who have died. But the way we remember loved ones is changing, as thousands of families turn to one project using TikTok and a surfboard.

Since the death of his father Randy Mendioroz, Tony Mendioroz dreamed of reuniting him with the place that he loved most—the ocean. Randy’s life revolved around water. He was a specialist in building water parks, wave machines and swimming pools, and Tony once worked for him for a while. The Mendioroz family were also regulars at the coast and spent wonderful time from some of San Diego’s best beaches.

Randy passed away from liver cancer in 2013. Feeling lost, Tony began to search for ways to feel a connection with his dad again. He found comfort in the sea and surfing, but always felt it was an experience he should have shared with his father. So, when he came across a video of a man offering to grant Randy “one last wave”, he jumped at the chance.

The man behind the video was surfer Dan Fischer. He, too, had lost his father Karl Fischer to cancer and had turned to the ocean to feel closer to him. After one unforgettable trip into the waves off the coast of Newport, with his father’s name written on his surfboard, Dan realized the potential healing power this simple activity could have when dealing with loss.

“Through surfing, I took him out there because he always loved the ocean, and he and I were adventure buddies,” Dan says.

When he got back to the shore, Dan posted a TikTok video, encouraging others dealing with grief to reach out and have the names of their lost loved ones written on his surfboard.

The Mendioroz family were one of thousands of those who got in touch from around the world, sparking the beginning of the “One Last Wave Project”.

The project prompted Dan to document each of his trips to the beach as names continued to cover his board. It has been a powerful force in creating a global community and support network for those going through loss.

For years, Chris Scharoun DeForge had a Valentine's Day routine. She celebrated like clockwork with her husband Paul Scharoun DeForge. On Valentine's Day they would go out to eat, maybe at Red Lobster or Olive Garden. They were celebrating each other.

But this year's Valentine's Day may be the most unusual one yet. That's because it is their 25th as husband and wife, a landmark that would be significant for most couples but it's extraordinary for the Scharoun DeForges. They were both born with Down syndrome and are believed to be the longest married couple with the condition in the country.

At the time of their wedding, some folks believed that people like them didn't have the emotional maturity to be married. Chris, who as a girl used to cut wedding photos from magazines and hang them on her wall knew better. “I looked into his eyes and saw my future,” Chris said about falling in love with Paul when they first met at a dance 30 years ago.

Still, they have had their struggles. And the most recent one may be the most monumental (极大的). This year's Valentine's Day is the first on which they won't be living together. Paul, 54, is coping with early stage dementia, an illness that affects many with his condition at a relatively young age. Several months ago, the state moved him into a community residence (住处) with intensive nursing care while Chris still lives in their cozy apartment in Liverpool.

Of course Chris doesn't want to be without him. Their family worked hard to keep them together. They even found a new apartment that met the state's standards. At first, the state agreed-a huge victory-but Paul's condition continued to deteriorate. By that time he was using a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care. The state decided he needed to move to the facility after all.

The couple is disappointed but not scared. Chris visits Paul regularly and they spend weekends together. Chris’s sister said they had an unconditional and sweet love.

A creative mom Danielle Lindemann is a mother to a soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter. When she received the Disney-brand book What Is A Princess? as a gift for her daughter, Lindemann thought the messages seemed a little shallow.

Lindemann’s efforts included changing “A princess is kind” to “A princess is kind of a badass” and completing the sentence “A princess likes to dress up”. “I just want my daughter to see that she can be anything she wants,” the mom explained, “She can also speak her own mind and be a doctor or a senator if she wants.”

After Lindemann made the changes, she thought her daughter might be a bit confused, but the daughter actually just rolled with it. Lindemann did not intend for many people to see her edits. She just found it amusing. Though she didn’t imagine having such a wide audience, Lindemann says she thinks it’s great if her edits make people smile or even think a bit differently about gender models.

Further, Lindemann added, “there is absolutely nothing wrong with girls (or boys!) wanting to put on something sparkly and feel pretty. But when the ruling idea is that girls — and women — are judged mainly on their physical appearance in a way that boys and men are not, I think it’s important to model some other values for these girls as well.”

As a parent, she believes it’s important to show girls that their worth does not lie only in their physical appearance and that their other qualities are valuable and important. For her, if there were a variety of children’s books out there in which little girls were shown playing with trucks and trains and learning to be engineers and surgeons, and if there were books out there in which boys were shown getting a kick out of dressing up in fancy clothes, it would be a different world.

“At present, it’s not that world. But time will tell,” she stressed.