Granger Smith's wife, Amber, says she's impressed at how resilient her two eldest children have been since the death of 3-year-old River in June. Lincoln and London have started seeing a counselor weekly, Amber says, and she and Granger will soon start counseling, as well.

It's all part of a pledge to not let the tragedy tear them apart, and it's all part of their very public grieving process. Smith's family YouTube series the Smiths was popular before River drowned in the family's pool. Keeping a routine and talking about their emotions is clearly part of the process for them.

“I make myself get out of bed for my kids and I make myself be a good mom for them because London and Lincoln deserve that," Amber says, speaking right to the camera through tears from inside her closet. On the day she taped it, she and daughter London had a girls' day planned while Lincoln and Granger were on tour in Iowa.

Clips of mother and daughter shopping and father and son on the tour bus and at an Iowa racetrack split Amber's on-camera monologue. She reluctantly filmed herself at her husband's urging, she admits.

Granger Smith's River Tribute Is Beautiful:

“The thing is, it doesn’t feel right, at least right now, to keep doing the Smiths without River. He was such a big part of it, and I figure the only way I can go forward with doing the Smiths is just to be honest and share like what we are going through and our grief and how much we miss him," Amber says.

Granger, for the most part, doesn't speak directly about the grief in this video, although he has plenty in previous episodes. The channel was started in March 2019 and there were 27 episodes before the tragedy. Five have come since, including Wednesday's (July 31) episode, which is titled "Honest Life Update."

“Grief is weird," Amber acknowledges. "One minute you’re completely fine. Well, not fine — you’re in a state of calm and then you’re a mess and it comes and goes and it hits you out of nowhere and it’s an ocean of waves."

London is seven years old and Lincoln is five. Smith and Amber Bartlett married in 2010. He has several shows scheduled through the fall, including a stop in Utah on Friday night (Aug. 2).

Since River Smith's death, the country couple has funneled grief into giving back. On June 25, they presented a $200K+ check to Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin, where their son was treated after the accident. They continue to raise money for the hospital in his name. Donate here. 

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