Twenty-first birthdays are always momentous occasions, but no one else’s milestone celebration could cause quite as much emotion as this young woman’s.
Bailey Sellers lost her dad to cancer when she was 16, and yesterday, on her 21st birthday, she wrote on Twitter how he had done something quite amazing before he died to ensure she always felt he was with her on her special day each year.
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Sharing three snaps on her post, Bailey, who is from Knoxville, Tennessee, explained how her father had pre-paid for her to receive a bouquet of flowers and an accompanying card every birthday up until her 21st.
And his final letter and flowers to her was all kinds of heartbreaking.
He wrote: “Bailey, this is my last love letter to you until we meet again. I do not want you to shed another tear for me my baby girl for I am in a better place.
“You are and will always be the most precious jewel I was given. It is your 21st birthday and I want you to always respect you momma and stay true to yourself.
“Be happy and live life to the fullest. I will still be with you through every milestone, just look around and there I will be. I love you Boo Boo and Happy Birthday!!! Daddy.”
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Bailey’s lump-in-throat inducing Tweet hit a nerve with her followers and soon amassed over 90,000 re-tweets and almost 400,000 likes.
Readers told Bailey the post had made them cry, but also said how heartwarming it was that her dad had arranged such a wonderful thing in his final days.
One wrote: “What a great father and man. I’m so sorry you lost him so soon. He’s watching down on you. Happy birthday Bailey!”
Another said: “That’s a great dad. You are truly blessed. Happy birthday.”
Bailey responded to all the messages by saying she was “so thankful that my dad’s thoughtfulness brought so many people happiness.”
Absolutely. What an amazing dad.