Boy Mocks His 62-Year-Old Mom in Front of Friends, Next Day Neighbor Comes to Talk about It — Story of the Day

A poor 62-year-old mother's heart broke when her young son mocked her in front of his friends. The next day, an angry neighbor grabbed him by his collar and revealed a heartbreaking truth that stunned the boy.

Tom was upset as usual. The parent-teacher meeting was happening shortly, and he didn't want his mom, Sylvia, 62, to attend. He had often lied to his mom about all previous meetings, assuring her that they weren't compulsory for all parents to attend.

While Tom was lost in deep thought about how to lie to Sylvia this time, his teacher interrupted him. "So, is your mom coming for at least this meeting, Tom?" she asked.

The classroom filled with giggles and some murmurs behind Tom's back. So far, the 14-year-old 8th grader had never invited his mom to attend any of his school events.

Nervous, Tom could no longer focus on his subjects the entire day. The only thought that hounded him was the huge age gap between him and his mother. Tom would vent his frustrations on Sylvia day by day because of this...

"Hey, so why is your mom not coming? You said she was out of town during the last parent-teacher meeting...Is she coming on Friday?" one of his friends asked him.

Tom was anxious. He dramatically covered up, saying Sylvia had gone to stay at a relative's house for two weeks. Then he hurried away to avoid further questions.

Tom looked at Sylvia angrily. "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, OLD LADY? YOU JUST RUINED MY LIFE WITH YOUR GREY HAIR AND WALKING STICK...."

His friends knew something was odd. One of them grabbed him by his arm, saying, "Hey, cool! So, if you're alone, why don't we all meet at your home for a board game, music...and pizza?"

Tom started to sweat. He could feel his temperature rising out of anxiety.

"N-No...NO...I'm busy. Maybe some other time, guys!" he said and hurried past them. Tom was upset and angry, thinking about all the fun he had to forego because of his mother.

"I just can't stand them finding out that I was born to an old lady," he muttered on his way home.

"Where have you been? I was worried...." Sylvia asked Tom, seeing him enter their home. "I got an email regarding a parent-teacher conference. I'm excited to attend it this time!"

But Tom didn't feel the same. "JUSY STAY HOME WITH YOUR WALKING STICK, WILL YOU???" he retorted.

The boy's reaction stunned poor Sylvia. She tried to talk, but Tom angrily ran upstairs and slammed the door.

Syliva lay on the couch, unable to think of anything other than Tom's resentment for her. Later that evening, he was about to leave the house when she stopped him with a strange request she hadn't made in years.

"Tommy! Hey, stop...stop," she said shyly. But Tom wasn't that same lovable boy anymore. He fumed at her. "WHAT NOW?" he shouted.

Sylvia paused for a while. Then she got up from the couch and feebly walked to him. "Will you come with me to the doctor? I have an appointment today, and I need someone by my side."

Tom was furious. "We never did this before, and you used to go alone...why do you want me to tag along now?" he asked. But Sylvia insisted.

The boy agreed reluctantly. He feared she wouldn't pay for his excursion next month if he didn't go. Half-heartedly, he went with her to the hospital.

When she was done with her appointment, Sylvia wanted to relax a bit in the local park. She instructed the driver to pull over at the park on their way home. Tom was shocked because he knew his friends would be hanging around there by that time.

"Oh no...MOM! What the hell are you doing? Let's just go home now, okay?" he shouted.

Sylvia wasn't convinced. It had been too long since she last visited this park when Tom was a child. So she wanted to relive those memories with him again.

"For my sake, please come with me," she requested.

Tom was frustrated. He alighted from the car without even stopping to help poor Sylvia get down. "Now listen, I'll walk in front of you...NOT WITH YOU...alright?" he fumed at her.

Sylvia shyly smiled at him and agreed. While the poor old mother took slow baby steps with her walking stick, Tom walked ahead.

A few minutes later, he ran into his friends. He was shocked and looked back, hoping Sylvia wouldn't call out to him or disclose their relationship.

"Hey! What are you doing here? And who is she? Is she your GRANDMA!" one of his friends shouted.

Tom was nervous. He didn't want Sylvia to utter a word. He chimed in, saying, "Nah, this old lady is getting into my nerves...She's not my grandma...I found her on the road struggling to get here." he said. "I don't know who she is and just wanted to help her."

Tom's words shook Sylvia. She couldn't fight back her tears. But one of his friends quickly recognized Sylvia. "Hey, stop lying to us...I saw her in school filling up a form...."

Tom looked at Sylvia angrily. "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, OLD LADY? YOU JUST RUINED MY LIFE WITH YOUR GREY HAIR AND WALKING STICK...."

Sylvia felt thrown and thrashed. She couldn't believe her ears. She wanted to run or at least walk faster away from this humiliation. But she couldn't do it. Old age had gotten the best of her. Tom had run away crying, leaving her alone in the park with his friends.

The boys were stunned and helped the poor old woman get into her car. The whole evening, Sylvia tried to reach out to Tom by dialing his number, but he never picked it up, and after some time, he switched off his phone when she called again.

Sylvia began to panic. She didn't have any of his friends' numbers. She cried inconsolably and kept checking with the neighbors.

The following day, Tom came home, and the front door was open, with no Sylvia in sight. He was baffled and kept looking for her everywhere, but she wasn't there.

Tom was worried. He called their driver several times, but he was not reachable. Then Tom heard the doorbell go off, followed by loud bangs on the main door.

As soon as Tom opened the door, his neighbor Peter held him by his shirt collar and dragged him inside the house. "You! It's all your fault!... What did you just do to your poor old mother, you freak?" Peter yelled.

Tom didn't understand what was going on. "Wh-what happened to her?" he cried. "Where is she? Please, what just happened to my mom?"

"MOM??? You realized she's your mother NOW?" Peter yelled. "You gave your mom a heart attack... She's in the hospital now because of you."

Tom dropped to the floor and began to cry. "Your mom was worried about you the whole night... She was looking for you like crazy and had a heart attack," Peter said, and the boy was torn apart.

Then Peter told Tom the unthinkable truth that Sylvia never wanted him to know.

"You should be grateful to that woman for adopting you," he divulged.

Tom was stunned. "ADOPTED???" he asked.

"Yes, you heard that right. Sylvia found you near the trash bin...You were dirty and sick. She spent several sleepless nights nursing you to health so that you grew into a strong, healthy man...But see what you did to that poor woman."

Tom felt his world jolt under his feet. He rushed to the hospital to meet Sylvia. As soon as he reached her ward, he slowed down. All the bad things he had told her before began echoing in his ears. Tears gushed down his eyes as he entered Sylvia's ward.

"MOM, I AM SO SORRY!" he cried.

Sylvia was happy to see him. She happily accepted the bouquet of her favorite roses he gave her. She kissed Tom on his forehead and said, "I know it's all my fault... I shouldn't be looking like your grandmother when I'm supposed to be your mother."

Tom looked at her in tears. Sorrow filled his heart as he held her hand. "I feel blessed to have a mother like you...I'm proud to be your son," he cried.

From that day on, Tom never felt shy about his mother because he realized that age is nothing when it comes to true love. Not just parent-teacher meetings, but he made sure Sylvia was around for almost every event in school. He was also proud to introduce her to all his friends and even invited them home to taste her delicious pies!

What can we learn from this story?

• Love your parents unconditionally regardless of their age. Tom had always been ashamed of his mother Sylvia because of her age. He never wanted her around his school or his friends because she wasn't as young as their parents.
• Don't judge someone without knowing about the sacrifices they made for you. When Tom didn't return home an entire night, Sylvia worried and suffered a heart attack. The next day, their neighbor Peter lashed at Tom and disclosed that Sylvia had adopted the boy after finding him near a trash bin. After learning the truth, Tom regretted his mistake and reconciled with his mother.

Click here to read about how an old mom gave her $3.7M estate to a young man who was not one of her three sons.

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