http://www.fighthardsmilebig.org/

Nicholas Pedone Foundation: Fight Hard Smile Big, Glen Cove, NY (2026)

05/26/2026

MY LETTER TO HEAVEN — 13 Years Later

Nicholas… my sweet boy. Thirteen years. Isn't that so wild?! It’s wild to even say that number out loud. Some days it feels like a lifetime ago, and other days it hits me like it was yesterday. The missing never goes away...it just changes shape. It’s softer now, more like a quiet ache I’ve learned to live with, not something that consumes or takes control.

Daddy and I still yearn for you. We always will. But we are not living in that dark place anymore. We're living in the light you left behind... and you left a lot of it. You’re in everything we do, everything we've become, every part of the life we've built. And baby, we've built a good life, a strong life. A life you’d be proud of.

Thirteen years later, we laugh more. We love harder. We let things go that don’t matter. We choose people, who choose us. We choose joy even when it’s not easy. And we know you’re part of that. You’re the little nudge in our spirit reminding us to keep going, to stay grateful, to stay open, to stay soft.

I think about your strength, your fight, your smile...the way you taught us what real love looks like. Those memories used to break me. Now they guide me. They remind me to live with intention, to show up for the people I love, to appreciate the small moments, to breathe deeper.

I feel you in the signs... like the one you sent yesterday, I feel you in the quiet moments, in the things that stop me in my tracks. I know you’re around. I know you’re working your magic. I know you’re still mine and always will be.

Thirteen years later, I carry you with honor, not heaviness. With gratitude, not fear. With love that has only grown and continues to grow stronger.

I promise to keep living our best life... not in spite of losing you, but because of everything you taught us. Love doesn’t disappear. It shifts. It expands. It becomes the light that leads us forward.

To my angel, my heartbeat, my forever sweet Nicholas...keep shining. I’m here, living, loving, and moving through this world with you right beside me. Keep guiding us - we are following and continue to learn from you.

Love you forever - to the moon and the stars... Mommy

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day from the Nicholas Pedone Foundation. 💛💙

Today, we honor every mom — those holding their children close, those holding them forever in their hearts, and those standing strong beside a child battling cancer.

Your love, courage, and strength inspire us every day. We see you. We honor you. You are not alone.

Fight Hard. Smile Big. Never Give Up Hope. 💛

04/16/2026

SMILE SQUAD:

As we approach on 13 years - I hope you will walk these next 6 weeks and remember our Angel.

This was 13 years ago! Nicholas knew he was going to be in the hospital for 6 weeks or so and Mommy and Daddy would be sleeping at a hotel. He was adamant about seeing where we were going to live in Philly while he was getting his treatment and begged if we could go one night earlier so he can sleep with us ❤️. In hindsight - we didn’t realize it would be our last sleep together ❤️‍🩹

He had the time of his life - playing his Xbox and connected with his friend and family that night. Doesn’t his smile say it all?

04/07/2026

We are beyond heartbroken.
Yesterday, we learned that Joseph Maroney, has earned his angel wings.

Joseph was our 2025 5K Cancer Warrior, and we had the absolute honor of celebrating him and embracing his incredible family on that special day. His courage, his smile, and his quiet strength touched every single person who met him. He fought with a bravery far beyond his years.

There are no words big enough for this kind of loss we know so well.

May you rest in eternal peace, Joseph.
We are holding your family in our hearts and prayers, and we will continue to honor your light, your fight, and your beautiful spirit.

💛🕊️

Joseph is one of 10 children. If you are able to make a small donation, please do so here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-joseph-maroneys-cancer-battle?modal=donations&tab=all

04/05/2026

Easter is a season of hope, renewal, and love — all things we hold close at The Nicholas Pedone Foundation.

In honor of Nicholas, we continue our mission of lifting the spirits of children and families who need it most, reminding them they are never alone.

From our foundation family to yours, we wish you a blessed and joyful Easter filled with hope and smiles.

04/05/2026

Easter is a season of hope, renewal, and love — all things we hold close at The Nicholas Pedone Foundation.

In honor of Nicholas, we continue our mission of lifting the spirits of children and families who need it most, reminding them they are never alone.

From our foundation family to yours, we wish you a blessed and joyful Easter and Passover holiday filled with hope and smiles.

02/14/2026

MY VALENTINES DAY LETTER TO HEAVEN:

How are you, baby?

I’m writing to you in raw format today... no filters, no softening, just the truth of what I feel.

Let’s get real for a minute. A raw reminder… time might make the days easier to carry, but it never heals the wound completely.

It’s been a while, Nicholas, since I’ve let myself go this deep, this honest, this exposed. This isn’t meant to be a sad message... it’s simply the truth of what lives in the core of my soul. The part of me that has always been yours.

Days like today don’t just tug at my heart...they rip it wide open. They remind me of everything I had, everything I lost, everything I still carry.

I miss you in a way that lives in my bones. I miss your softness, your sweetness, your tiny hands, your whole little world wrapped around mine. Life keeps moving, but the part of me that was yours… that part stays right where you left it.

Thirteen years later, the love hasn’t faded...it’s gotten louder, heavier, deeper. Keeping your legacy alive isn’t just something we do. It’s who we are now. It’s the only way I know how to keep breathing.

I ache for your Valentine’s Day hugs and kisses with a kind of hunger that never goes away. I can still hear the echo of your little footsteps... that fast, excited run you did when you couldn’t wait to get to me.

I can still see your tiny hands holding a card you made just for me, chocolates melting in your fingers because you held them too tight. I miss that innocence. I miss that joy. I miss you... the real you, the warm you, the breathing you.

And yet… somehow, I still feel you. Not in the way I want, not in the way I beg for, but in the way the universe lets me. In the quiet. In the stillness. In the moments where something inside me says, “He’s here.” I hold onto that. I hold onto you.

And this year… you would be turning 21. Twenty‑one. A number that feels impossible. A milestone you should be here for. A moment I should be watching you step into.

It guts me to think about it. The man you never got to become, the life you never got to live. But I still imagine you. I can’t help it. I picture you as this handsome, charismatic, loving, affectionate young man who would’ve carried that same sweetness into adulthood. I picture your smile... older, but still yours. I picture your hugs... stronger, but still home. I picture the way you would’ve loved people, the way you would’ve lit up rooms, the way you would’ve made the world softer just by existing in it.

It breaks me. It fills me. It destroys me. It saves me. All at once.

Nicholas… today and every day is Valentine’s Day for me. The world celebrates love once a year...but I celebrate you every moment I’m alive.

You are the core of my heart. The center of my world. The reason behind everything I do. Time can’t touch that. Distance can’t change that. Death can’t undo that. Nothing ever will.

You drive me. You guide me. You live in every breath I take. And I will love you with a depth that reaches far beyond this life.

Keep guiding, keep whispering - I am following, I am listening... 💛

My forever Valentine in Heaven. Always, always you.

To the 🌕 and the ✨🌟
Love you forever, Mommy

01/13/2026

SMILE SQUAD...On Guard...

A Facebook memory from 13 years ago today and wanted to share. I remember this day and his words clear as day and thought I would share as a reminder of the innocence of children. I hope still to this day, that I did everything right ❤️ Love Nicholas Mommy (I hate Cancer!) and I dont hate anything or anyone - but damn do I hate what cancer does!

Nicholas: Mommy, I think Im getting sick (as he stands over the bathroom sink)
Me: What gives you that idea? (as I am rubbing his back)
Nicholas: Because Im throwing up alot....
Me: No sweetheart, thats not why your throwing up...
Nicholas: Oh...then its the chemo?
Me: Yes, sweetheart
Nicholas: Ok Mom, at least Im not getting sick 💛😔💛

Thank you for you continued support, love and compassion. 💛.

01/13/2026

SMILE SQUAD...On Guard...

A Facebook memory from 13 years ago today and wanted to share. I remember this day and his words clear as day and thought I would share as a reminder of the innocence of children. I hope still to this day, that I did everything right ❤️ Love Nicholas Mommy (I hate Cancer!) and I dont hate anything or anyone - but damn do I hate what cancer does!

Nicholas: Mommy, I think Im getting sick (as he stands over the bathroom sink)
Me: What gives you that idea? (as I am rubbing his back)
Nicholas: Because Im throwing up alot....
Me: No sweetheart, thats not why your throwing up...
Nicholas: Oh...then its the chemo?
Me: Yes, sweetheart
Nicholas: Ok Mom, at least Im not getting sick 💛😔💛

Thank you for you continued support, love and compassion. 💛

12/30/2025

My Letter To Heaven at Christmastime:

Hello my precious angel. I hope you had the best party ever celebrating Jesus’ birthday in Heaven. I mean… what does that even look like? I can only imagine the magic.

We had a beautiful Christmas here with our amazing family. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by so much love and kindness.

This was our 12th Christmas without you. Doesn’t that sound insane? It does for me, because no matter how much time passes, our memories don’t. I hate the feeling that comes over me at this time of year. Not a single Christmas has gone by where I haven’t had a moment—sometimes a full breakdown—thinking about what was and what could have been.

Well, Nicholas… in just a few days we’ll be wrapping up 2025 and heading into 2026. So many great things were achieved in your memory this year, and so much more is coming. You continue to inspire everything we do.

More to come—maybe even a little recap of what you accomplished this year. But for now, I just wanted to check in and tell you how proud I am of you and everything you were, everything you are, and everything you were meant to be.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Heaven, Nicholas. Thank you to our family, who continue to help us coast through this time of year, even when it still hurts so deeply without you here with us.

To the moon and the stars - to infinity and beyond - love Mommy

Nicholas Pedone Foundation: Fight Hard Smile Big

05/26/2026

05/10/2026

04/16/2026

04/07/2026

04/05/2026

04/05/2026

02/14/2026

01/13/2026

01/13/2026

12/30/2025

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