A 71-year-old grandmother walked through the snow for five hours to see her newborn grandson, but was cruelly rejected by her son. What happens when her front door is opened later that night?
Amelia wanted to meet her newborn grandson, but when her son, Mark, wouldn’t pick her up, she decided to walk to his house. It took several hours because she was using a walker. But when she got to Mark’s house, he forbade her to enter, and then something terrible happened.
‘I can’t pick you up, Mum. I have to run some errands for Camilla, and other people are coming over. We’ll set up a time for you to see the baby,’ Mark told his mother, Amelia, over the phone. She had to come to see their newborn baby for the first time and he had to pick her up because his house was far away.
‘Are you sure? It’s pretty quick by car,’ Amelia almost begged. She really wanted to meet her grandson.
‘Some other time, Mum. I’ve got to go now. I’ll see you later!’ He hung up, and Amelia sank down on the couch with a heavy sigh.
Mark’s behaviour had been bothering her lately. He seemed to be distancing himself from her. To be honest, it had started when he married Camille.
Camille came from a very wealthy family in Connecticut, and Amelia raised Mark as a single mother with the help of his grandmother. They had never had much but love. But now her son had everything. Camille’s parents had given them a huge house after their wedding, and he was living large.
Since then, Amelia had felt left out, as if he’d been ashamed of his origins, though he’d never said so explicitly.
‘You’re daft,’ she often said to herself when she thought about the matter. Mark’s just busy.’ They have a baby and a million things to do now. He’ll pick you up some other time.’
But then an unexpected idea occurred to her. She could walk to his house. It might not be easy, but she could do it. The bus routes didn’t reach his house and she couldn’t afford it, so walking was the only option.
Amelia pulled herself up on her walker and picked up her purse and the bag she had prepared for the day. She hung them securely on the walker and started on her way. She walked slowly, and although she could lean on the walker, it was hard for her.
She had to stop several times along the way, and it wasn’t even two hours later. Three. Four. Finally she made it to his house, breathing heavily but satisfied that she had made it, even though she had trouble walking.
Ringing the doorbell, she took a special bag, as she wanted Mark to open it right away. But when he opened the door, his face lowered.
‘Mum?’ – He said, shocked. ‘What are you doing here?’
Amelia didn’t understand his facial expression and almost frowned, but she was glad she was here and that was what she focused on. ‘Surprise!’ – she said, trying to feign enthusiasm even though she was tired, hungry, and worried about his attitude.
Mark walked out, closing the door behind him and causing her to take a few steps back with the walker. ‘What are you doing, Mark?’ – She asked, frowning.
‘Mum! I told you you’d meet the baby some other time. You can’t come right now!’ – he scolded her, his face wrinkled with anger.
‘I don’t understand. Why are you getting angry? I just walked nearly five hours to see my grandson, Mark, and I brought-’
‘I don’t care what you brought! I don’t want you in here right now. You must leave immediately! You’ll meet Hans another day, okay? Please leave now!’ – he demanded, looking round as if he feared someone would see them. He opened the door and went back inside, slamming it in her face and leaving her standing outside with her things.
Amelia was stunned. There were tears in her eyes. He hadn’t even asked if she was okay, even though she had just told him she had walked five hours to get there. He knew she had mobility issues.
But she didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble, so she started to turn around, but then she remembered the bag in her hands. She decided to leave it at his door, hoping he would find it later.
Amelia walked home, prepared for the long, tiring hours that lay ahead. Fortunately, her neighbour, Mrs Cassavetes, saw her and gave her a lift in her old car. When she reached home, her legs gave out as soon as she closed the front door. She sat down on the couch and only then noticed that her feet were inflamed.
After resting a bit, she was able to get up, ice her feet and take some painkillers. But she ended up having to sleep on the couch because her bedroom was too far away.
Meanwhile, Mark said goodbye to his guests by waving to them through the front door. It had been a hectic day with many guests, and it was finally over. He hunched his shoulders, reflecting on his actions that day.
His mother had walked to his house from her home, he thought guiltily, and then shook his head, convincing himself that it wasn’t his fault.
‘She shouldn’t have done that,’ he whispered to himself. Turning around, he noticed a bag on the floor. He picked it up and saw a tag that read ‘From Grandma.’
Mark bit his lip, thinking about his mum leaving it there and returning to her house. He opened the bag and realised what was inside. They were his old toys from his childhood. He never had much stuff in his house, but these items had always been dear to him. And they still were. He couldn’t help himself and cried.
Camille saw him outside and got worried. ‘What’s wrong, honey?’
‘I did something terrible to my mother,’ he wailed, and his wife hugged him. He recounted everything he had done, including the fact that he had become estranged from his family because they were all poor and he was ashamed. ‘I can’t believe I was so horrible to her!’
After his wife consoled him, Mark decided to go to his mother immediately to apologise. He still had the keys to her house for emergencies, so when he got there, he decided not to ring the doorbell and just use them to enter. But he was greeted by the vision of his mother passed out on the couch, with cold compresses on her legs.
‘Mum,’ he whispered, gently waking her.
‘Mark, why are you here?’ – she moaned and tried to get up, but he stopped her.
‘Don’t move,’ he said and, picking his mother up in his arms as if she weighed nothing, carried her into the bedroom. He added more ice to the cold compresses and helped her apply them to her swollen legs. He also made her something to eat and they drank tea together. He then apologised for his behaviour and told her the truth.
Fortunately, his mum turned out to be the most wonderful person in the world. ‘I felt you were ashamed, but I’m glad you came here right away to apologise. That’s exactly what I taught you. When you do something wrong, you have to make it right,’ Amelia reassured him, and Mark cried in her arms for a while longer.
He spent the whole night with her, and thankfully her legs felt much better. The next morning they decided to go to his house so she could meet his new baby, Hans.
Camilla also apologised because she had no idea what Mark had done, but she should have asked why Amelia wasn’t home. They spent a wonderful day together, and Amelia gave Camille lots of advice about children.
In the end Mark asked his mum to move in with them because they had a huge house and he didn’t want her all alone so far away.
What can we learn from this story?
- Never be ashamed of your parents. Mark was ashamed of his background and tried to hide it from Camille’s family, thus offending his mother. He later regretted it.
- The best way to rectify a situation is to realise that you have made a mistake. Mark immediately tried to rectify the situation after realising his terrible mistake against his mother. Fortunately, she quickly forgave him.
Share this story with your friends. Perhaps it will brighten their day and inspire them.
