Every year on her birthday, Tennessee woman receives bouquet, card from deceased father

Bailey and Mike Sellers.
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Washington Post)

The last five birthdays have been bittersweet for Bailey Sellers — her father died just one month before she turned 17, but he's still been a major part of every celebration since then.

Before Mike Sellers died of pancreatic cancer in 2013, he made arrangements with a flower shop to send his daughter flowers and a card on her birthday, ending when she turned 21. Bailey, who is studying psychology at East Tennessee State University, said the final card was different from the notes she received in the past, which usually just wished her a happy birthday. This one was filled with words of encouragement and comfort, with her father writing, "I am in a better place. You are and will always be the most precious jewel I was given."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.