This Mom Packs Her Daughter's Lunch With Comforting Notes After Her Dad's Death

Whenever Julie Clarke packs her daughter's lunch, she makes sure to include a special, homemade treat.

Instead of filling Amelie's lunch box with sugary confections, the creative mom includes handwritten, inspirational notes. Even though Julie has been doing this for her 6-year-old daughter for the past year, her daily ritual has taken on new meaning since the family suffered a tragic and unexpected loss.

After being stung by a yellow jacket on May 1, Amelie's dad, John Clarke, suddenly passed away. Amelie's kindergarten class rallied behind the little girl with an array of comforting notes, which inspired her mom to continue her daily motivational messages when her daughter returned to school.

Her latest notes have focused on her father's love, how much support she has from others, and helping to problem-solve. Although Julie realizes that Amelie is still too young to entirely understand the deeper meanings of her insightful notes, she plans to show them to her as she gets older.

"I don't think the message is getting across all the time," Julie told The Parent Toolkit. "But I hope to save them for later and can use them to teach her lessons in the future."