Grieving Daughter Finds Note In Fossil Purse While Thrifting
Unexpected Thrift Store Find
Photo of a little girl with her father and a black purse.
TikTok/Abrielle Clausing
On January 13, 2021, Abrielle Clausing's world fell apart. Her father unexpectedly passed away from Covid-19. As anyone who has experienced grief knows, the journey isn't a straight one. It ebbs and flows with some days being significantly harder than others.
It was during a "particularly hard grief week" when Abrielle, 24, decided to embark on some retail therapy. She used to love thrifting with her dad, and no one loved a good deal more than he did.
However, she didn't just want to shop for the sake of shopping, she had a very specific item she wanted in mind.
"My sister and I decided to go thrifting and I told her I wanted to find a vintage Fossil brand purse," she explains in a now-viral TikTok video.
And wouldn't you know, Abrielle did indeed end up finding "the cutest vintage Fossil brand purse" - seriously what are the chances?
And as if that wasn't serendipitous enough, it was about to get a whole lot more remarkable.
Inside the purse was a handwritten note:
"When you read this you will be far from me in miles but not in my heart. I'm here. I love you."
Whelp.
She immediately took it as a sign from her beloved dad.
"I knew it was from him," she told People. "I always check the inside of the bag before I buy it to make sure it’s in good condition. When I stuck my hand in it, I felt the piece of paper and when I took it out and found the note, I read it out loud to my sister."
"When I saw the note, it just confirmed that he was with us," she added. "He’s always with us."
Response To The Viral TikTok
TikTok · abrielleclausingAbrielle's heartwarming video has garnered nearly one million views and over 1,000 comments and it's making believers out of every single one of us.
"I'm so afraid that death is final and we just stop existing. But some things can't be explained. There has to be more out there!!"
"This was def him 🥹💙"
"I’m literally crying so hard. Someone would have had to carry me out of the thrift 😭"
"I'm honestly at a loss for words. Wow. Just wow."
Even Fossil weighed in, writing, "What a beautiful note to find. Your dad's love will always be with you. Sending you and your family a big, warm hug."
Her TikTok also opened the floodgates for others to share the signs they've received from lost loved ones.
"My brother passed away & years later I was at a checkout line in the store & at the cash register was a young school photo of him that someone left.... never made sense but I'll never forget it."
"About 30 seconds after bursting in tears thinking about my grandpa a car merged in front of me and the license plate was his name and his age when he died 😭😭"
"When my mom passed, days after I found an email that not me nor my sister had opened or read before. It was an email my mom sent us 4 years before with the message “open it when I’m gone, love, mom”. It had a beautiful letter as an attachment."
Love Lives On
The note Abrielle Clausing found in a Fossil bag while thrifting is now part of a cherished collage.
People.com/Abrielle Clausing
Abrielle has given the note a place of honor, right smack in the middle of a framed collage of her favorite sayings and things.
It's a beautiful reminder that the love she shared with her dad lives on, even though he is gone.
And whether you believe in fate or not, you have to admit the universe had an uncanny way of showing up just when she needed it to.
After all, what are the odds that a stranger penned a note with the exact words she needed to hear, placed it in the exact bag she was looking for, AND that bag ended up in the exact thrift store she was shopping in? Pretty astronomical.
And yet, here we are.
Life is full of unexpected, magical moments that often happen when we least expect it. And sometimes those moments bring us the comfort and connection we need most, reminding us that love...is never truly lost.
Let Your Dreams Propel You Through Valleys and Over Mountains
Each one of us has a light within that radiantly burns; it never goes out. Life's challenges and inconsistencies may weigh you down, but let your dreams catapult you beyond all mental, physical, and psychological limitations -- be merciless in your pursuit of self-actualization. Use untapped potential within to fire up your internal engines; shift all gears to go, blast through all impediments. Ignore the negative environmental noise, which threatens to consume. Focus. Determine to turn all obstacles into rafts and propel yourself across life's turbulent waters. Never stop. Never give in. Never give up.
Let Your Dreams Propel You Through Valleys and Over Mountains
Aspire
Push forth with your dreams and goals no matter the setbacks. Be grateful to those who stick with you no matter what. Always find the time to say thank you to those who helped. Send them positive vibes even if they are no longer in your life. Aspire to do better at every juncture of your journey.
As a young black girl growing up in my Caribbean island home, I longed to cross the waters surrounding jagged, limestone shores. There were hardly any signs telling me I could rise above the struggle and violence of a broken home. Nevertheless, I dreamed to one day do better; I dreamed to one day go further -- I dreamed to soar.
When I mentioned my dreams to those around me, many smiled dismissive smiles. However, my mom encouraged and believed in me from her own broken place. She often said, "If anyone can do it, you can!" When inherited brokenness cost me friendships, jobs, lovers and my education, she encouraged me to keep going. She believed my dreams would take me through valleys and over mountains.
Visualize
Never lose sight of your goals and aspirations. There will be days when obstacles rise up, but have no fear -- obstacles are an important part of the process. They help you to grow, so embrace them when they appear. To me, obstacles are the universe's way of saying you are on the right track. Visualize how you want your end goal to look like as you keep surging forward.
Over the years, I figuratively crossed numerous faraway mountains and traversed countless overgrown valleys. Every step has been painstakingly minuscule, but I persisted. Over and over I shared my dream to be a published writer and artist to all who would listen. An immigrant and high school dropout with no inheritance as a buffer, I carved doors with my worn-out hands; I walked unpaved roads with my bare feet. Along the way, my determination created opportunities to meet kind-hearted people who saw my passion and helped propel me forward, eventually leading me to Mount Holyoke as a Francis Perkins Scholar.
Yes, I made many mistakes in my youth, most self-inflicted -- we sometimes do in our pursuit of betterment. However, when lessons needed learning, I evolved and kept moving at the same time.
Accept
Cultivate acceptance early. There are some situations and people you have to accept because there are no other options. Instead of fighting to hold on to the things you cannot change, accept, let go and keep flowing.
As time shuttled by I embraced humility -- I accepted those unfixable situations; I let go of unsupportive family; I gave up shallow friendships. In time, I realized, in order to give myself to others, I first had to heal my internal wounds. By accepting and taking responsibility for my shortcomings, doors opened that were previously closed. When the death of a close family member forced me to face life's unknowns and uncertainties, my faith was strengthened; when personal illness threatened my mortality, my faith was deepened. I have travelled far and wide in search of my truth -- not knowing, until now, that it was always here.
Finally, my dreams brought me back home to the place where I started. Today, even in the midst of an ongoing struggle, calm and peace still pervades no matter the crisis of the day.
Rise above
Know that all situations in your life have one thing in common: you. Take responsibility and keep making room for positive growth.
Although I had dreams that took me through difficult and dangerous mountains and valleys, I had the power and determination within me to keep going. This process is still ongoing today and will continue until I leave this earth. I am constantly reconfiguring and adjusting my dreams, even though, at the core, the goal is the same.
Nowadays, flexibility is my best friend, and I am persistent in finding ways to adapt to whatever comes my way. I found that incorporating daily self-reflection is essential to keeping my dreams alive and to manifesting my goals. Another lesson learned was the importance of embracing constructive criticism and not taking everything personally. In order to keep rising up, you must be mature enough to cast off internal slights and resentments, which tend to hold you back.
As time passes by, I continue to see the correlations between my inner and outer world. It is fascinating to see the connections; to finally understand that I am in control of my reality.
Hold fast to your dreams
In the end, the path of the pebble you threw, in the pond of your life, will ripple far and wide. Since yours is the hand that tossed it, all actions caused by that ripple will accrue to you. Do what’s necessary to uncover your truth and discover your path, but know all roads lead back to you. No matter your circumstance or situation, let your dreams take you through valleys and across mountains, but know the grass is always greener where you stand.