A Gen Z woman from Hawaii has left internet users in tears after she discovered what her grandparents had been doing with her childhood photos for years.
Riley Fauria (@rileyfauria) posted a reel on Instagram revealing stacks upon stacks of printed emails – each containing photos of her and her siblings – lovingly saved by her grandparents.
“There were literally years of emails and photos that they had saved and printed of us,” the 24-year-old said.
@rileyfauria
The photos were also printed long before social media and smartphones made sending photos via message second nature. Back then, the only way her grandparents could stay connected from afar was through emailed snapshots sent by her parents.
“They lived in Hawai’i and we were living in Massachusetts at the time, so they watched us grow up through these pictures that were being sent,” Fauria added.
The emotional discovery made her feel a deep sense of love and gratitude for her grandparents. “They never failed to tell my siblings and me how much they loved us, but to see a tangible act of love was overwhelming,” Fauria said.
The gesture was especially touching given Fauria’s close bond with her grandparents – Mimi and Papa. She told Newsweek that they do everything together.
“We live together, share all our meals together, and even work together – my papa is my boss at work,” she said.
Fauria’s papa is currently mentoring her in running their family business and has become a father figure to her.
“And my mimi is the most selfless and generous person I know,” she added.
Fauria’s clip struck a chord with millions on Instagram. The reel has been liked over 60,000 times, and the comments section was filled with crying emojis.
“After my dad passed, I went through his desk. I found a folder with the same… it was precious,” one user wrote.
“That’s adorable, a very grandparent move,” another added.
“I think it strikes a nerve and makes people miss their own grandparents or reminds people of how they feel towards their own grandchildren,” Fauria said. Many Instagram users also commented on the colored ink – something which would have been more expensive to do.
“People comment that they know they love us because they spent the money to print all the pictures in colored ink,” Fauria said. “I hadn’t thought of that, but I guess it is true.”