A little boy is melting hearts across TikTok this week after packing his bags to go visit his dad in heaven.
TikTok mom, Ashley Irwin (@just_your_average_mom) is a content creator and single mom from Texas who uses the platform to share various parts of her life, including grief and mental health.
In a viral video Ashley shared last month, which has nearly 5 million views at the time of publication, the single mother of three sat in front of her phone holding her young son’s super hero-themed duffle bag. The clip begins with the text, “When your son wants to visit heaven.”
“Y’all know my son. He’s a hoot,” Ashley says, explaining that before bed, her son Wyatt asked her to get his suitcase.
Confused, Ashley asked her son where he’s going. His response: “I’ve got a big trip tomorrow.”
Thinking about their plans for the next day, Ashley asks Wyatt if he’s talking about going to church, to which he replies, “No, that’s going to have to wait, but He’ll [God] forgive me.”
Through tears, Ashley explains that her son told her he’s going to heaven to visit his dad.
Ashley’s husband Tyler passed away unexpectedly in his sleep in May of 2020. He was just 35 years old.
Wyatt asked his mom not to peek at what he had packed. But an emotional Ashley said she hopes he’ll forgive her before diving into her son’s duffle bag.
She opens the bag and chuckled as she pulled out few masks and capes. “I’m assuming he’s saving the world in heaven,” she says through sniffles.
Other important items for the journey to heaven included a whistle, two new baseball gloves, a ball, and ALL the Nerf darts. But it was what Ashley discovered next that left her in a puddle of tears.
One by one, she pulled out Wyatt’s shoes. One was holding his dad’s bottle of cologne, while the other was stuffed with his dad’s old wallet.
As she realizes what’s in the shoes, Ashley holds the cologne up to her nose and visibly crumbles at the all-too famiiliar scent of her late husband.
“Boy he’s smart,” Ashley says, explaining that anytime her husband would pack to go out of town, his cologne would go in his shoes.
Then she opens the wallet and explains that when Wyatt had important things for his dad to carry, he’d open his wallet and have Wyatt place the item right on the inside flap.
After a brief sob, Ashely closes the video by explaining that whenever her late husband and son would go on a trip, they’d bring her back flowers they picked, “and I promise you tomorrow, [Wyatt] will do the same.”
Ashley’s video left TikTok in a virtual puddle with tens of thousands of users flocking to the comments with love and support.
“The look when you smelled his cologne like it was comfort & pain existing in the same moment. Sending love and healing,” one user wrote.
“Boy’s got big plans for his trip. I sure wish we could visit heaven,” wrote another.
Several others shared about their own experiences with children who tragically lost their parents at a young age, offering love and encouragement for this strong mama.
In an update, Ashley shared a video of her son riding around on a big wheel, wearing his cape and mask.
“For those of you asking if my son is okay,” she captioned the video, “He is out here fighting crime and saving puppies.”
