'Who is it for?' A little girl unwraps Christmas gifts for her late sister and the internet is in tears
Little Janey seemed excited to open the Christmas presents while her mother told her all about her deceased sister.
Amy Grote (@amyhgrote) shared an emotional yet heartwarming video of her daughter Janey on TikTok, filmed during Christmas in 2015. The clip, which has garnered 2.2 million views, shows Janey opening Christmas presents that were originally intended for her late sister, Ann Reese, who tragically passed away in an accident in 2012.
Amy captioned the video, "Such a bittersweet moment in 2015 when Janey opened all of the gifts we had ready for Ann Reese's 2012 Christmas morning. Since she spent Christmas in heaven after passing on Christmas Eve after a tragic accident, we decided to hold on to the presents until Janey was close to her age. This moment will forever be close to my heart."
In the one-minute video clip, Janey is seen sitting on the floor surrounded by gifts as her mother asks her who those gifts are from. The girl asks, "Who is it for?" Amy replies, "Remember the letter said it was from Santa and these were sissy's presents that she didn't get because she went to heaven." The mother further tells her that Santa had been holding on to these gifts until Janey reached the same age as Ann Reese when she died.
"Can we open it?" asks the little girl. "Sure," responds the mother. The girl opens the gift, asking, "What is it?" After opening the gift, she squeals, "Oh! I love it! It's a movie," and hands it to her father. Meanwhile, in a subsequent video posted by Amy, Janey unwraps more gifts. The caption further gave context, "Ann Reese passed away in 2012 on Christmas Eve. I was pregnant with Janey. She was born 18 days after Ann Reese passed away."
Among her gifts, Janey received a bathtub for her baby dolls and a bucket full of playdough. Amy remarked, "Sissy loved playdough just like you do." The little girl couldn't contain her excitement with all the presents she received and hurriedly unwrapped them, beginning to plan which ones she'd play with first.
@amyhgrote Such a bitter sweet moment in 2015 when Janey opened all of the gifts we had ready for Ann Reese’s 2012 Christmas morning. Since she spent Christmas in heaven after passing on Christmas Eve after a tragic accident, we decided to hold on to the presents until Janey was close to her age. This moment will forever be close to my heart. Updated: Many have asked what happened to Ann Reese, so i shared a link to a podcast in the bio with the story i#grief #rememberingannreese #grief #childlossgrief #griefandjoycancoexist #choosejoy #cutekidvoice #griefjourney ♬ original sound - Amy Grote
According to AL.com, Ann Reese accompanied her parents, Amy and Davey, to her grandfather's house on December 22, 2012. The Baldwin County home had a swing in the backyard, near which Ann Reese was playing. Other children were swinging at the time, and as she was passing by, the swing hit her. "She really literally was in the wrong place at the wrong time," the mother told the outlet.
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Despite being rushed to the hospital, Ann Reese couldn’t survive her injuries. Her father, Davey, shared, "The doctors did all they could. It was just a very, very unfortunate accident." However, around 500 people attended the deceased toddler's funeral, and Amy asked a friend for a cake themed around "Dora The Explorer," since it was Ann Reese's favorite cartoon character.
People on TikTok gushed over Janey's (Jane's) reaction to the presents and some of them were reminded of Ann Reese. @KAM recalled, "We still remember Ann Reese Grote." @saraizard added, "I've been following you since the accident with Ann Reese. This is such a special moment to watch her open her gifts. Thank you for sharing this with us." @Donna Maillet sends blessings, "Beautiful. Anne Reese is looking down watching her sister & has the biggest smile. I love this so much."
Follow Amy Grote (@amyhgrote) on TikTok for more wholesome content.
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