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West Michigan family honors late mother with random acts of kindness

Posted at 10:33 PM, May 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-12 22:41:49-04

SPRING LAKE, Mich. -- Mother’s Day is a time for celebration but for those who have a lost a mom, it's often tough when the holiday rolls around.

However, a  family in Spring Lake didn’t let the passing of their beloved mother stop them from helping spread her love.

This year marked the first Mother’s Day, sisters Tarah,  Ryann and Emilen have had without their mom and they wanted to make sure they honored her in a way she would truly appreciate.

"Today was our first Mother's Day without our mom, she passed away in October after bravely fighting cancer for the last two years," Tarah Kline, said.

Mother's Day was not a day they were initially looking forward to, but it was a day three sisters knew they could make a difference in honor of their late mother, Julie.

"When she was passing away she always talked about instead of flowers she wanted people to do random acts of kindness and so I think that’s a way we can celebrate her on every milestone," Tarah, explained.

Their idea for Sunday was simple: to hand flowers out to strangers at their mom's favorite breakfast spot, Bob Evans.

"We thought that was the best way to do it with a little love note and make sure we said choose joy on it, that was her mantra in life," Ryann Pulsifer, said.

The plan was to hand out 28, their mom's favorite number but the sisters ended up getting a little help.

"The plan was for us to do it but we are both chronic criers and we had our kids with us and they were really excited to celebrate our mom too," Pulsifer, added.

"In honor of my grandma we handed out flowers with notes on them and we gave them to people who are in there," Grandson Chayce Holden, said.

The note read:

"On our first Mother's Day without our mom, we honor her by doing a random act of kindness. She had the purest heart and always believed in helping others and it's what this world needs more of. We hope this flower brings you joy today and the year to come. Happy Mother's Day and CHOOSE JOY." 

The note itself struck a chord with those who got one, including Toni Epplet who posted on Facebook to say the surprise made her day.

Most reactions included tears.

"It was amazing and it really felt like that’s what we should be doing, that is exactly our mom, every tear every reaction is exactly what she would have wanted," Tarah, said.

The family says it's a tradition they plan on keeping for future Mother’s Days.