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By Daniella Gray
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A heartfelt birthday tradition between a mom and son from New Hampshire has touched thousands of people online.
Josh Chace, who turned 45 last month, shared screenshots of birthday text messages from his mom, Carol, sent to him over the years on the r/mademesmile subreddit.
In his post under the username u/NESpahtenJosh, Chace described how his mom would text him "happy birthday" every year at precisely 1:11 a.m., the exact time he was born.
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"I joked that she must have been up late the night before but that's when she told me that it was the time I was born, and she always tried to text me at that exact time," he said.
Carol, who passed away in September 2021 after a sudden heart attack, was the glue that held the family together. Chace described her as the "life of the party" and told Newsweek that she knew everybody.
"She was a great storyteller. She had a laugh you could hear across the room [and] she loved her family so much. It was always important to her to make sure she stayed in touch with us even if it was just a short check-in," he said.
As Chace and his brother Eric grew up, there was nothing Carol wouldn't do for them. "Every hockey practice, homework assignment, after-school activity, she was there. She sacrificed so much to make sure I had what I needed to thrive growing up and I'll never forget that," he said.
As Chace grew older and moved away, the physical distance sometimes created emotional gaps, but whenever he came home, it felt like nothing had changed. "Overall, we had our challenges as any parent and their kid do, but you don't think about that much. You just remember the good times and the stories that make you smile," he said.
After enduring a few days of chest pain, Carol suffered a heart attack—news his dad, Bill, had to share over the phone to Chace and his brother.
"That time was filled with dread, doubt, and stress; it was awful. By the time I got to the hospital, she was unable to talk or respond to anyone. I would not get the chance to have one last conversation with her and that's the part that really hurts. There's no closure," Chace told Newsweek.
The whole family were there when Carol died, and they received an outpouring of love at her celebration of life.
"We held the event at a local country club and there was quite literally a line that spanned hours for people to get in, pay their respects, and tell stories about Carol's life. That's the legacy of who she was," the 45-year-old said.
Since her passing, the family has rallied closer together, just as Carol would have wanted. Eric moved back from California, and Chace has formed a tighter bond with his father.
But it hasn't been without its difficult moments. Chace married his wife Molly in 2022, and both had to face the heartache of their moms not being there to share the joy of the day.
When Josh's birthday comes around each year, the absence of his mom's special text is deeply felt.
"I've come to terms with the fact that I won't hear from her anymore, but that doesn't make it easier. Sometimes the day itself is a challenge and other times it's a few days later that it really hits. Grief is weird like that," he said.
He finds ways to honor her memory, from sharing stories to hiking New Hampshire's mountains and spending time with loved ones.
Chace told Newsweek that the response to his post on Reddit has been "overwhelming". At the time of writing, it's received 87,000 upvotes and 2,500 comments from other users.
The most-liked comment hit Chace hard. It read: "Your mom is going to use all of us Redditors using whatever spiritual power you believe in to send a big happy birthday message. I bet she wishes she was here celebrating with you and I bet she misses you a lot."
For Chace, the kindness and empathy from the internet has shown the power of the Reddit community.
"It really showed how great a community it is, and how we're all going through things and that sometimes just talking about it can make it better. It also helps keep the memory of my mom alive," he said.
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