Hearts were broken after a woman found a note attached to a balloon while walking her dog.
The woman, known on TikTok as @lucy_hannan_, was walking her dog at Doncaster Racecourse in England when something shiny caught her eye: black balloons with sparkly pink numbers and words in celebration of her 50th birthday.
The balloon had likely drifted away from a birthday party and was stuck there. She was about to pick it up and dispose of it, but something on the balloon’s string gave her pause: there was a handwritten note of distress tied to it.
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This note shows that it was written by a child to his/her deceased mother. The opening line, “Dear Mom,” brings tears to the eyes. The child wanted to send a happy birthday message to his/her deceased mother along with a balloon to be delivered to his/her mother in heaven.
The caption reads, “Sending lots of love to whoever wrote this. Let’s be grateful for our loved ones every day.”
@lucy_hannan_/TicTok
The heartbreaking note moved viewers to tears, and as of Friday the video had garnered more than 134,800 views and 11,900 likes. People worked together in the comments section to decipher the note, as the handwriting was completely indecipherable.
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“To your mum, hope you’re having a lovely birthday in heaven…” one person speculated.
Another person suggested writing “Thinking about you a lot, missing you so much…” in the middle of the note, and then writing “I hope there’s a bounce castle in there” at the end.
Some were in tears as they mourned the painful losses of strangers and children.
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“All I do on this app is cry my heart out for people I don’t know,” commented one viewer, while another added: “Oh my god this is heartbreaking… mothers should never be taken away from their babies… this is my biggest fear! Sending hugs to the baby.”
A third assured: “Mum got the message, which is why she sent it back to Earth (I’d like to think). Thanks for picking it up and disposing of it properly!”
Newsweek We reached out to @lucy_hannan_ via TikTok for additional comment.
Helping children grieve
Losing a loved one is never easy, regardless of age, but children especially need time to process their grief.
According to positive psychology, children often grieve differently than adults: Younger children may have a harder time making sense of the loss, and some may experience waves of separation and grief.
Positive psychology articles recommend using this time to encourage your child to ask questions. When spending one-on-one time with your child and talking to them, it’s important to use appropriate, specific language to help them understand. Allow your child to express and feel their emotions.
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