A little boy makes a considerate gesture for his divorced mother by asking her out on a date, and the next day, dozens of men show up at her door to do something touching for her.
It had been a long day for six-year-old Simon. He had to get up early to get ready for school, go to his classes, come home, do his homework, and then go to bed. But Simon was not tired. His mind was filled with thoughts of his mother.
Raquel had divorced Simón’s father over a year ago. She worked long hours to support her son and she was always tired when she got home. Simón tried to be a good boy, so that his mother would be happy, but sometimes she cried.
That night, Simón pretended to be asleep when Raquel entered his room. He knew that he had been crying, and he hated to see her so sad. But he also knew that she needed some time to herself.
That’s why he stayed still and gripped his stuffed animal tightly until she left the room. He then instantly stood up, looking at her piggy bank, as he had an idea.
The next day, when Simón returned from school, Raquel was not at home. She had left him a note on the refrigerator saying that her neighbor, Mrs. Gina, would be there to take care of him while she was gone.
Simon knew the timing was perfect. Before Mrs. Gina arrived, he went to her room and took her piggy bank from the shelf.
“Sorry,” he apologized to his piggy bank he called Charlie. “You know we’re the best of friends and I would never do this to you. But Mommy needs you.”
Simon was so sad about breaking the piggy bank that he closed his eyes when he dropped it on the ground. As he broke to pieces, a clatter of coins filled the room.
“One two three…”. Simon began to count the money with his tiny hands, carefully separating coin after coin from the broken pieces.
In the end, it totaled $20 and Simon’s happiness knew no bounds. “This is enough! Mom, I will give you the best surprise for your birthday! You will never be sad again!” He said to himself, smiling.
Two days later, on Raquel’s birthday, Simón took her to a café. He didn’t tell her about her surprise yet and waited until they were there.
“No, mom! Wait!” Raquel stopped when she was about to open the door of the cafe. He wanted to open it for her. “After you,” she said and opened the door.
“Oh,” Raquel laughed, surprised. “Thank you very much honey!”.
Simon ran to the table in front of Raquel and slid the chair out for her, surprising her even more.
“Take a seat, mom. I have a surprise for you!”, he said, and Raquel didn’t understand what was happening.
Soon, the waitress brought them drinks and fries. “Happy birthday, ma’am,” she said. “You have an adorable son. Yesterday he came with her neighbor and planned this surprise for you. And since we wanted to do something extra, we gave him some lemon tarts. Don’t worry about the bill. Simon already paid it.”
“But, darling, where did you get the money?” Raquel asked, worried, as her eyes filled with tears.
“I had to break Charlie, Mom. But I don’t regret it. I’m a big boy, you see. I told Charlie that.”
Raquel couldn’t control her tears at this moment.
“You don’t have to be sad because dad left us, mom. I’m here. I don’t like it when you cry in the middle of the night. I always want you to be happy!” Simon added. “Wipe your tears, Mom, and please be my date for tonight! Will you?” He knelt down and asked Raquel to dance.
The waitress put on Raquel’s favorite song and upon hearing it, she couldn’t help but shed tears of happiness while pleasing her little one. Simon’s surprise was nothing grand or expensive. In fact, it was a modest date in a simple cafe near his house, but it was his best birthday because it was a gift that came from Simon’s heart.
The other customers in the cafe did their best not to cry when they saw what Simon had done, but they all failed. They couldn’t stop their tears from falling, and soon after, cheers and birthday wishes for Raquel filled the whole place.
Raquel had the best birthday and the best day of her life.
The next day was Sunday, and Simon was playing in his room when he heard a knock on the door. Raquel was busy in the kitchen, so she decided to open the door and was surprised to see a stranger standing outside with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.
“Who are you, sir?” Simon asked.
Before the man could reply, another man approached, and then another, and then several more. “MOM! There are a lot of people here!” Simon ran inside towards Raquel, terrified.
When Raquel approached the door, she was surprised. “What’s on offer?” she asked, surprised to see dozens of men at her door.
The first visitor smiled and said, “Hi, I’m William. I’m a local journalist and I saw what your son did for you yesterday in the cafe. It was amazing…I didn’t expect that from such a young boy.” In fact, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t moved by him. Yesterday I published a story about it in my newspaper and received emails from several men who wanted to make up for her husband’s absence. Happy Birthday!”.
When Raquel accepted the flowers from the men on her doorstep, her tears didn’t stop. She looked back at her son, who was smiling broadly at her, and in her thoughts, she said silently, “thank God.”
“I was so upset by my loss that I didn’t see the gem I was blessed with. My son is an angel. My God, thank you for that,” she said.
What can we learn from this story?
There is always a silver lining in life; you just have to look patiently: Raquel was so consumed by her grief that she forgot to appreciate the beautiful son she had been blessed with. A kind gesture from Simon reminded her and she was never sad again.
The innocent heart of a child understands everything: Although Simón was only 6 years old, he knew that his mother was deeply hurt after the divorce, so he decided to make her happy, surprising her with a mother-son date on her birthday.
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