Grieving Mom Buys A Random Child's Birthday Cake To Honor The Day Her Daughter Was Born
"It brings me so much happiness and so much joy to know that Amiya’s itty bitty little feet are still making prints on people’s hearts.”
Evgeny Atamanenko | Shutterstock Mourning never follows a straight path — it threads through our lives, stitching together a distinct before and after. Losing a loved one is an all-encompassing transition, changing the core of who we are.
When we celebrate people after they’re gone, we put our love into action. We recognize how joyful we feel to have known them while holding the sorrow, despair, and even the anger that accompanies loss.
A woman named Melissa shared her bittersweet, poignant ritual to remember her late daughter’s birthday.
A grieving mom bought a birthday cake for a random child to honor the day her daughter was born.
“Come with me as I go buy someone’s birthday cake in honor of my late daughter,” she said.
“It’s July 2, 2024, and my daughter, Amiya Nadine, was born July 2, 2010,” she shared. “She’ll be 14. Well, she is 14 today, and she lived five very short months on this Earth, and what other way to honor her than to go buy someone’s birthday cake.”
“Hopefully, I can find someone close to 14, I’m hoping, or I just can find another little girl, I don’t know, but I’m gonna go buy a card, fill a little card out,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Melissa sang along to Taylor Swift’s “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” as she drove, mouthing the lyrics, “I’m so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday, every day.”
She took a fortifying sip of iced coffee and went searching for a card to send with the cake. It didn’t take long for her to find one that captured her daughter’s spirit: A sunflower wearing sunglasses.
“She had this sunflower dress she looked really pretty in,” Melissa said, smiling at the memory.
“Just sending a little birthday sunshine your way,” the inscription read.
Melissa revealed that she 'only shed a few tears' as she wrote her birthday wishes, and then read those words aloud.
“It could be weird that a stranger bought your cake, but it’s so special to me,” she said. “July 2, 2010, my daughter, Amiya Nadine, was born. She lived five short months on this earth, but she was the most beautiful sunflower ever.”
Losing a child is devastating beyond words. Special occasions, like birthdays, might be an acute reminder of that loss and pain, yet amidst the sorrow, love echoes.
"Today is her 14th birthday, and in honor of her, your cake is on me," she said. "Have the most beautiful birthday.”
Birthdays hold immense meaning. Every passing year marks the ways we’ve grown as we get closer to the versions of ourselves we hope to be. We make wishes on candles and eat cake, celebrating the gifts we have and acknowledging the hard parts.
Psychology Today noted that grieving through birthdays or any milestone without our deceased loved ones can stir up the harshness of loss no matter how much time has passed. The best way to heal is to "lean into" the feelings and allow yourself to miss them, something Melissa seemed keenly aware of.
Melissa pulled up to the grocery store, Taylor Swift as her soundtrack. She walked through the fluorescent aisles to the bakery and asked if there were any birthday cakes that she could pay for.
“It’s my late daughter’s birthday,” she said, offering to buy a cake, her way of keeping Amiya’s memory alive.
“Wonderful,” the bakery attendant said.
Melissa cried as she learned there was a cake, decorated and ready for pickup, for a 14-year-old girl.
She took deep breaths on the way back to her car as though she were grounding herself after such a deeply emotional interaction.
“There was a cake for a little girl named Emma. And it’s Emma’s 14th birthday, also,” Melissa said. “Happy birthday to you, also, Emma. Enjoy your day.”
The beautiful synchronicity of the moment captured a strange truth: Sometimes, we have these inexplicable experiences that remind us how magical and complex the world can be.
“That’s crazy that she was 14, also,” Melissa said. “I had the whole bakery cry.”
In a separate post, Melissa shared that Emma’s mom got in touch with her, reaching out on Facebook.
“She sent me this super heartwarming message about how they feel so honored about what I did, and that on Emma’s birthday, at 9:09 P.M., they lit off fireworks, so when they did it that evening, her mom made a video, with the cake and the fireworks, and it said ‘Happy Birthday, Emma and Amiya.’”
“It was so nice. I will never forget that little girl,” Melissa said. “I will never forget it. It doesn’t matter how emotional two days ago was; I will always remember that day. It brings me so much happiness and so much joy to know that Amiya’s itty bitty little feet are still making prints on people’s hearts.”
She shared that the comments left for her were kind and supportive, saying, “I only made a TikTok of this to document it because it was the first time I’ve ever done this.”
By buying the cake for a girl she didn't know, Melissa displayed her vulnerability, compassion, and thoughtfulness. She uplifted her daughter's life, making sure Amiya knew how loved she was.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.