A father of four, who died in 2013 from pancreatic cancer, thought ahead when it came to his youngest daughter.
Bailey Sellers wrote in a now-viral post on Twitter that her father, Michael, had been sending her flowers every year on her birthday since she was 17, and promised to send them every year until she turned 21. And indeed her last set of flowers, a purple bouquet, arrived this year two days before her actual 21st birthday on Nov. 26.
A heartwarming note included with the flowers read in part, “Bailey, This is my last love letter to you until we meet again. I do not want you to shed another tear for me, my baby girl for I am in a better place.”
The East Tennessee State University student said of the final letter, “I was so happy reading that message.”
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Michael Sellers died August 25, 2013, at the age of 56. His wife of 18 years, Kristy Sellers, told ABC News that he died six months to the day from when he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
Bailey Sellers, who’s originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, was a sophomore in high school then and opted to drop out of school to help her mother take care of her late father.
“I became home-schooled so that I could help my mom out … because he couldn’t work anymore,” she added.
It was during those times that the bond between father and daughter grew even tighter.
Bailey Sellers got her first set of flowers three months after his death. The card read, “I loved you first…happy 17th! Love, Dad.” Another letter would detail that she’d be receiving flowers on her birthday until she turned 21.
Kristy Sellers said she knew of her husband’s plan.
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“We were sitting on the couch — and it was about a month before he passed away — and he said he had already done it. That this was what his plans were,” Kristy Sellers recalled. “He said, ‘I’m going to do it until her 21st birthday. And if she’s married, ask her significant other to send her flowers in remembrance of me.'”
And the late Michael Sellers didn’t just remember his youngest child. He had special surprises for each of his kids, according to Bailey Sellers.
Bailey Sellers, who still treasures the notes her father left her, including a journal, knows she’ll still be close to her father despite not getting another bouquet.
“He was my best friend. I looked up to him so much,” she said. “He was just an overall great person.”