Lauren Alaina just penned a heartfelt tribute to her father, J.J. Suddeth, one year after he unexpectedly passed away on July 23, 2024.
“I’ve spent the last 365 days learning how to live in a world that doesn’t have my daddy in it,” Alaina writes. “Some days I still forget and reach for the phone to tell him something. Other days, I sit in the silence and let the grief come in. I’ve learned that grief isn’t loud. It’s not always in the big moments. It’s in the little things… the empty chair during a game, the first Alabama kickoff that I didn’t get a ‘ROLL TIDE’ text and not having someone to tell when I heard a new joke. It’s the call I didn’t get to make when I found out I was pregnant. It’s the absence in the hospital when the grandparents came to meet my little girl. It’s not saying Happy birthday, happy Father’s Day, Merry Christmas.
“It’s dreaming you’re here and waking up and remembering. It’s life moving forward but your heart feeling stuck in what was,” she continues. “It’s in the way I go about my days now. Slower. Softer. More aware of what truly matters and what doesn’t. There’s a version of me that existed before July 23, 2024. And then there’s me now. This version of me handles things differently. I try to let go quicker. I laugh harder. I love more intentionally. I don’t flinch at the ‘little things’ anymore. A car cuts me off, and I just let it go. Because I know that time is not promised, and life is too short to waste on anything that doesn’t really matter.”
The American Idol alum goes on to share that since she can’t call her father anymore, she wrote a song called “Little Things.”
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“It’s not just a song, it’s an open letter to him,” Alaina explains. “A way of telling him how my heart and perspective have changed since he left us. I want him to know that his passing opened my eyes to so much. To prioritize my mental health. To call people back when I say I’m going to. To share if I’m struggling. To let go of things that don’t matter and focus on what does. To be quick to forgive. To be kinder. To be slow to anger. To love harder and deeper. I hope he would be proud.
“I hope he’s up on a cloud listening to it right now and learning to play it on guitar,” she concludes. “Love you, Daddy. Pinky.”
Alaina and her husband, Cam Arnold, welcomed their first child, daughter Beni Doll Arnold, into the world on June 11.
“The right words are hard to find to describe how parts of my heart that I didn’t even knew existed were unlocked at 8:44 AM when they laid you on my belly for the first time,” Alaina writes when announcing the baby’s arrival. “I will never be the same. You, to your dad and me, are absolute perfection. We are honored God chose us to be your parents. Thank you to everyone for all of the love, prayers and support for our precious daughter.”
Alaina’s next show is currently scheduled on August 28 in her home state of Georgia. Find all of Alaina’s music and upcoming shows at LaurenAlaina.com.