An Idaho mom’s heartbreaking Facebook post is reminding parents everywhere about the importance of appreciating your kids.
Ashley Grimm tragically lost her four-year-old son Titus in a car crash on June 2, but only recently opened up about her loss. On Facebook, the mom explained that she was driving five of her children to a family reunion when a large rock rolled in front of her 13-passenger van, causing her to drive off the right side of the road.
At the time of the crash, her son Titus – who loved to unbuckle his seatbelt – was in the middle of switching seats with his eight-year-old brother without her knowing. Unfortunately, the little boy was thrown from the car when it rolled and was instantly killed.
“Our lives were instantly ripped apart,” Grimm wrote. “The little boy who had been my pride and joy was cruelly taken from me in a matter of seconds.”
The mom-of-six is now urging all parents to cherish every moment with their kids.
“Go hug your babies right now,” she wrote on Facebook. “Soak in their smell, look at the innocent sparkle in their eyes that is lost somewhere between childhood and adulthood. Really feel how they squeeze you. Set down your phone and see them through the lens of your eyes not only the lens of your camera. Remember the feeling of their head on your shoulder, their hand in yours, their sloppy kisses on your cheeks.”
Grimm also noted that we should never judge each other as parents. “We don't know the whole story,” she said. “We just don't know.”
Speaking from experience, the 31-year-old mom revealed that she was bombarded with cruel comments after her son’s death made headlines. These included people saying she was a horrible mother and that she “deserved it.”
Defending herself, Grimm wrote about how she knew her son liked to unbuckle his seatbelt, but that she made every possible effort to keep him safe. “We tried five point harness seats, boosters, I believe even zip ties at one point,” she wrote. “On average, I would usually pull over three or four times on any given trip to firmly make him buckle up again.”
Furthering her point that you should never judge, the mom revealed the tight-knit relationship she had with her late son: “[I wanted to] tell them how close we were, how hard I fought to keep him safe. How we had a special good night kiss and a designated McDonald's date each week. I wanted to scream that he always told me he wanted to marry me, that I was the best mama ever.”
Grimm’s post quickly touched the hearts of many and has been shared over 400,000 times in less than a week. Despite facing backlash following the crash, the mom’s Facebook post was filled was positive messages of support.
Grimm told ABC News that the Facebook post was part of her grieving process. “It was my way of journaling the lessons that I had been learning and pouring my heart out in a raw, transparent way,” she said. “I never dreamed that it would touch so many lives.”
“I’m not this superhero mom,” she continued. “People that have lost children, I want them to know that it's not out of the question, that they can [get through it]. It's one day at a time.”
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