In a heartbreaking Facebook post, a grieving mom reminded fellow parents to cherish even the smallest moments with their children.
On July 15, Ashley Grimm wrote a moving Facebook post about losing her 4-year-old son, Titus, in a car crash. In the post, she noted that Titus would often unbuckle while in the car, prompting her to pull over on many occasions to ensure he was safe. On June 2, Grimm was driving with Titus and four of his siblings in Idaho. She wrote that a large rock rolled into her lane about the same time Titus and his 8-year-old brother were attempting to switch seats. According to the post, Grimm avoided moving into the other lane at a curve by straddling the rock, which caused her 13-passenger van to roll. KTVB reported that Titus was thrown from the van and did not survive the crash.
“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.”
In the heart-wrenching post, Grimm recalled trying to get her children out of the car and working to lift the van off Titus’ body.
“I rubbed his tummy and tried gentle compressions. But he was already gone,” she wrote. “It was instantaneous, which only brings me comfort because I know he felt no pain.”
Grimm felt compelled to write about her son in the aftermath of the crash to encourage other moms to “hold your babies tight” and appreciate every moment with them, even the smallest ones:
Go hug your babies right now. 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 stressed the importance of not judging other moms. After losing her son, she read cruel comments on news stories about the crash where readers judged her and told her she was a “horrible” mother and “deserved” this.
“I wanted to punch them, shake them. Tell them how close we were, how hard I fought to keep him safe,” she wrote. “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.”
Gratefully, Grimm has also received tons of support online because of her touching post, which has been shared more than 395,000 times as of Tuesday morning. In a follow-up post, she thanked everyone for their kind words and wrote that she was “floored” by the response. She also noted she was especially thankful that Titus has inspired parents to hold their children a little bit tighter.
“I never dreamed my little post would touch so many lives, but my immediate prayer after losing my baby boy was that somehow, some way; beauty might come from my ugliest heap of ashes.”