Family Left Speechless After Random Act Of Kindness

This random act of kindness honored a life cut too short

Losing a child would be unbearable. And though one mom “knew what it meant to be brought to your knees begging for your life to end because the pain was just too much to bare,” she found a way to honor her late daughter by looking outwards towards others. She has been practicing random acts of kindness each year to honor her and remind others that her daughter’s life mattered.

Kyle Jauregui and his family went to pick up a birthday cake for his sister, Madison, and found a card with a note saying her cake had already been paid for by a total stranger. “So today is my sisters birthday and when we went to pick up her cake someone had already paid for it,” he posted on Twitter. “It was left with this card… my family was speechless and we just want to say thank you to McKenna’s mom and wish McKenna a Happy Birthday. There’s still good in this world.”

McKenna’s mother, Ashley, lost her baby girl nine years ago in a tragic accident in the home and has since been finding ways to keep her memory alive. She’s been writing about her experience with grief and finding joy again on Ladybug Landing, as well as on television and furniture safety. She has been “learning lessons everyday in her absence” and wants McKenna’s life to “make a difference in this world.”

Ashley not only paid for the cake but gave Madison a birthday card that read, “In honor of my daughter’s 10^th birthday I have chosen your birthday cake to pay for. Each year I do this random act of kindness because I am unable to buy her a cake of her own. Today is her big double digit birthday. Please enjoy your day.”

The reactions have been overwhelming since Kyle shared their story:

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The MISS Foundation on the card Ashley left is a “kindness project” which began in 1996 as a way to help families honor their deceased family members and provide support and services for grieving families. Ashley told Scary Mommy she started doing random acts of kindness in her memory when she found the MISS Foundation. She said it’s always something she’s done anonymously and leaves a card just to explain why it was paid for. Over two million cards have been used in that time to “perform random acts of kindness in memory of a child, parent, friend, or spouse who died before their time.”

“She was here and mattered,” Ashley said. “Knowing someone reads her name and learns about her means so much.”

Ashley told Scary Mommy she feels it’s important to give to others because it doesn’t cost a thing to be kind. “Little things can change a person’s day,” she said. “It’s what life is about, being kind, loving and compassionate towards others.”

You can donate to the MISS Foundation here.