Cara Melia had just said goodbye to her mum, Wendy Chadwick, who passed away unexpectedly from heart disease at just 51.
It was sudden, painful, and left a space that couldn’t be filled.
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| Credits: Kelly Sheridan on Facebook, shared with her permission. |
After the funeral, Cara and her family cremated Wendy’s remains.
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She had planned a short holiday to Butlins in Skegness with a friend — something simple to help clear her mind.
“I had booked a holiday to go to Butlins with my friend in Skegness,” Cara shared, “so I thought I’d scatter her on the beach where she was at her happiest.”
But then her best friend had an idea.
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“She thought of the bottle idea,” Cara said. “And we put her out to sea.”
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| Credits: Sav D Sc | Cara with the note. Shared with permission. |
Cara placed her mother’s ashes in the bottle, and a handwritten message that read:
“This is my mum. Throw her back in. She’s travelling the world. Thanks. Cara, Oldham, UK.”
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“I wrote the note because I wanted her to finally get to travel,” she explained. “Because she didn’t get to before she passed.”
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| Credits: Kelly Sheridan on Facebook, shared with her permission. |
On May 2nd, she gently tossed the bottle into the water from the beach in Skegness. To her, it felt like a release. “I had a good cry,” she said.
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| Credits: Cara Melia | Cara throwing the bottle. Shared with her permission. |
“But I felt like I was doing something right for her.”
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But just 12 hours later, a woman named Kelly, also on holiday at Butlins with her two children, spotted the bottle washed back up on shore.
She read the note and posted it on a Facebook group hoping to reach Cara through the power of social media.
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| Credits: Kelly Sheridan on Facebook, shared with her permission. |
Her post read:
“Can everyone please share this far and wide in hope it finds Cara from Oldham!!
We found this lovely lady earlier today at Butlins, Skegness beach. She’s been thrown back in the sea as requested… happy travels Cara’s mum.”
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The message quickly gained attention. People were moved by the simple act of kindness from a stranger, and many began sharing the post to help reunite Cara with the moment.
After the post went viral, people began tagging Cara to get her attention.
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| Source: Facebook |
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| Source: Facebook |
In response, Cara said, “I’m so grateful they found her mum, threw the bottle back, and even posted to find me.”
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To another tag, she joked, “Clearly, my throw wasn’t good enough to get her out of Skeg.”
One woman took a more emotional approach, writing, “Your mum was saying goodbye.” Cara’s simple but heartfelt response was, “I hope so.”
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Have a story like this? Email us at hello@nostalgicgrandma.com and share a moment that reminded you the world still has good in it.
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Disclaimer: Our intention is to brighten your day and make you smile. This story is based on reports from Manchester Evening News, with photos shared by people on Facebook.
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