Parenting

Kids Shower Classmate With Beautiful Notes After She Loses Her Dad

by Jerriann Sullivan

Kids write classmate handwritten notes after her dad dies as part of “Amelies Lunch Notes”

There are times in life when we all feel speechless. We struggle to find the right words of support for our partner, friend, or family member who was dealt a devastating blow. Though it never quite feels like enough, a group of kids are a reminder that a thoughtful note or hand drawn card can mean the world to someone.

Amelie, a 6-year-old from Florida, recently lost her dad in an unexpected way. He had an allergic reaction to a bee sting and passed away on May 1, Parent Tool Kit reported. Knowing how much their friend must be hurting, the child’s classmates, teachers, and staff at her school made hand written notes for Amelies Lunch Notes, a project her mother, Julie Clarke, started when Amelie began kindergarten. Every school night, her mom would draw Amelie an elaborate note and include some wise words on life. “I don’t think the message is getting across all the time,” Clarke said. “But I hope to save them for later and can use them to teach her lessons in the future.”

Clarke posts her daily drawings on the Instagram account Amelies Lunch Notes. She said the photos were originally for friends and family, but she’s quickly gained more than 900 followers. When her husband died there was a lack of posts, which worried some people. Clarke asked a fellow mother to post a photo of the drawing her daughter, Alice, made for Amelie when her dad passed away.

Clarke wanted to update the project’s followers, who immediately responded with more handwritten notes and cards for Amelie. In addition to community members, teachers and friends of Amelie the family has also received notes of support from all over the world and are still getting new ones every day. “People from all over the country are making notes to her,” Clarke said. “Those are going to be very valuable tools for her to know that there are people out there.”

Knowing how special Amelie’s notes from her mom are, the kids at her school didn’t want the little girl’s special project to be forgotten. They essentially took it over while Clarke and Amelie healed and flooded the family with special notes.

And sometimes, kids are tiny comedians that make you laugh in the darkest moments. Just look at this card from Miles.

The most important note, though, came from her mom who wrote about how truly special and loved her husband was as a way to comfort Amelie.

The handwritten notes from friends, classmates, and strangers mean a lot to the mother and daughter. “It’s really touching,” Clarke said. “People are good. People are thoughtful and they care.”