How a Maine L.L. Bean Bag Helped a Daughter Through Grief

Grab your tissues, because this story will bring a tear to your eye. Grief is pretty impossible to deal with and it comes in all different forms, shapes and sizes. But what makes it easier, is people.  

According to People, just before her mom passed away, Erin Barbee was excited to receive a birthday gift, an L.L. Bean Boat and Tote bag, embroidered with her new married name “Barbee Girl”. This gift, was coming from her mom. It wasn’t just a bag, it was a beautiful moment shared between the two.

According to the article, the bag has been on backorder and continuously getting delayed and eventually it was canceled. Eric’s mom passed away weeks before the bag was canceled and said “ 

A Tote, a TikTok, and the Unexpected Kindness That Carried Her Through Grief

"At first, it feels like just a bag. I'll order another one, then it hit me that it would be the last birthday gift that I would get from my mom. She passed on June 17," as per the article.

She then decided to make a video to upload to TikTok on her lunch break asking viewers if anyone had a boat and tote bag and Erin was certainly not expecting what happened next.

In the video posted below, she described what happened with her mother and the views flooded in, 1.6 million to be exact.

She also received offers of the bag  and those viewers made sure she got it, embroidered and all. L.L. Bean caught wind of this and sent her a brand new one. But what’s even more touching is that one woman sent her, her very own personal bag anyway, saying  

Through the impossible grief Erin was supported and loved through the kindness of strangers.

Read More: Friendly Reminder From Maine Neighbor Everyone Needs to Hear

She said,  

"Somebody said that the final gift that my mom got me was the bag, but the final gift was all of this encouragement from people. It's been a light during the hardest couple of weeks of my whole life."