Grieving Mother Hands Out Flowers in Middle of Street on 1st Mother's Day Without Son
Mother’s day is a wonderful chance to recognize and honor the mother figures in our lives. But for some, it is heartbreaking reminder of what they’ve lost.
On March 28, mom Jayna Sullivan lost her 17-year-old son Garrett. The teen passed away after sustaining a fatal gunshot wound at a party.
In the wake of the tragedy, Jayna has found ways to cope with the absence of her son.
In April, the mom decided to honor her son’s generous heart. With the help of family members, she created Act of Kindness cards to give out around her community to encourage random acts of kindness.
And soon, the Act of Kindness project went even further than their community, traveling to Florida, Texas, Arizona, and even a Mercy Ship off the coast of Africa.
Jayna hopes that others will be inspired by her son’s willingness to give and serve others and pay it forward in the future.
In April, Jayna went out into her community with her Act of Kindness cards. She spotted a young girl buying flowers and knew what she wanted to do.
“That was my son’s birthday,” she said. “I asked her if I could buy the flowers for her, because my son loved flowers.”
After telling the girl and her mom Garrett’s story, she handed the girl a card and asked her to “keep it going.”
When Mother’s Day came around, Jayna wasn’t sure how to celebrate the day without her son.
“It’s my first mother’s day without my son and I really struggled with what I am going to do today. And there’s no question what I wanted to do was to honor him and make other people happy,” she said.
But perhaps remembering her son’s love for flowers, Jayna came up with a beautiful way to honor Garrett’s life.
With the help of family and friends, Jayna decided to stand on the side of the road in her community and hand out flowers.
Holding a basket of flowers and her son’s picture, she offered passing drivers a flower with the simple hope to keep his memory alive.
All she asked of drivers was to continue to share Garrett’s story and their memories of him on the Facebook page they’ve dedicated to him.
“I’m sure Garrett is up there with a big smile on his face saying go, mom, that’s my mom,” Jayna said.
With each and every flower Jayna gave out, she was able to remind others that no matter how difficult life may get, a simple kind gesture can brighten even the darkest of days.
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