People often make unnecessary judgements without knowing someone’s story. This was the case with Maria, who worked every day to give her son the best chance at a bright future. One day, Maria proved that all assumptions were wrong.
Maria’s life had always been difficult. She came from a poor family and, despite her best efforts, always seemed to be at a disadvantage. She dedicated her life to giving her son, Aiden, the best upbringing possible.
She worked as a cleaner for a cleaning company and often struggled to make ends meet. Maria worked 12 hours a day to feed and care for Aiden. When he was old enough, she sent him to a good boarding school in the suburbs.
‘I’m going to work very hard so you can go to college. Mummy will take care of you, okay?’ she said to Aiden before he got on the bus. Maria made sure to write to Aiden whenever she could.
Years later, Aiden excelled in science and told her that he had the opportunity to work as a doctor in a medical practice. He decided that this was the kind of doctor he wanted to be when he grew up. Aiden also told Maria that while working, he had met a girl named Linda, and they had started dating.
‘Just remember that some of us may come from nothing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t become something.’
It turned out that Linda was the daughter of another doctor from the practice Aiden attended. “Listen, son, I don’t want you to get your heart broken. But Linda comes from a wealthy family, and her family may look down on you,” Maria wrote to her son.
“Don’t worry, Mum. She knows where we come from, and she doesn’t care. She loves me for who I am. Trust me, you’ll see,” Aiden wrote back. After graduating from school, Aiden and Linda stayed together and attended the same college.
As soon as Maria met Linda, she understood why Aiden loved her so much. Linda was modest and did not judge Maria, even when she found out where she worked. When Aiden announced that he and Linda were engaged, Maria immediately gave her blessing.
Maria decided to throw a party at a local restaurant to celebrate the engagement and meet Linda’s parents, Hugh and Elizabeth.
‘I don’t think it’s going to happen, Maria. My parents are very snobbish, so when they found out about Aiden’s background, they didn’t give their blessing,’ says Linda.
After some time, Hugh and Elizabeth reluctantly gave Aiden their blessing and agreed to pay for the wedding. The ceremony was quite extravagant. Linda wore a designer wedding dress that her grandmother had given her. The cake was enormous, and Hugh hired a famous chef to cater the wedding.
Maria finally had the opportunity to meet Hugh and Elizabeth, but they did not treat her very kindly. When asked what degree she had, Maria replied, ‘I didn’t have the opportunity to finish my studies because Aiden’s father left me to raise him alone.’
‘Well, if we hadn’t worked so hard, we wouldn’t have been able to give Linda all this,’ Elizabeth replied rudely. Hugh and Elizabeth had VIP guests, including well-known businessmen from all over the city. When asked who Maria was, they replied awkwardly that she was the groom’s mother.
After the vows and ‘I do,’ it was time for the groom’s and bride’s families to give speeches. Hugh and Elizabeth were the first to take the stage to congratulate the newlyweds on their union. Then they revealed their gift, which surprised Aiden and Linda, because Hugh had already paid for the wedding.
‘We are very sorry. We have treated you badly since we met.’
‘We know that you are both looking for a house and will soon be moving in together. Therefore, we will pay for all your furniture and appliances,’ Hugh said.
‘As soon as you find a house, it will be fully furnished,’ added Elizabeth. The gift was met with applause from those present. Hugh and Elizabeth looked on proudly at the reaction. Maria stood near the stage. Many guests began to whisper and grumble, because they all expected to receive a gift that would be very cheap compared to theirs.
Maria wiped away a tear of joy as she congratulated the newlyweds. She didn’t care about the criticism. Maria was simply proud of her son and daughter-in-law. But what she said next shocked the entire wedding party.
‘I worked my whole life and saved money to pay for your college education because I knew it would be expensive. And then you decided you wanted to be a doctor, and I thought, wow, even more expensive,’ Maria joked.
She noticed that Hugh and Elizabeth were laughing at her, not with her. Maria reached into her handbag for the envelope and continued.
“The funny thing is, you got a scholarship to study medicine anyway, so you didn’t even need all the money I saved. And now that you’re going to get your doctorate and marry this brilliant girl, what could be better than congratulating you by buying you a house,” Maria said.
All the wedding guests gasped in amazement when Maria opened the envelope and handed the keys to Aiden and Linda. Everyone stood and applauded, while Hugh and Elizabeth remained stunned. After the ceremony, Hugh and Elizabeth apologised to Maria.
“We are very sorry. We have treated you badly since we met you. We apologise for judging you. You have really shown us what a wonderful person you are,” Elizabeth said to Maria.
‘Just remember that some of us came from nothing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t become someone,’ Maria replied.
By the end of the year, Aiden had completed his doctoral thesis and joined Hugh’s practice as a doctor. Aiden insisted that Maria quit her job as a cleaner. Hugh and Elizabeth soon followed suit. Linda threw Maria a retirement party, and Aiden bought her a new car to thank her for everything.
Soon, Aiden and Linda had children of their own. Maria became a grandmother to them, a role she happily shared with Hugh and Elizabeth.
What can we learn from this story?
- Don’t take negative judgements to heart. All that mattered to Maria was her son’s happiness and success. She didn’t let the criticism get her down and ultimately proved all her doubters wrong.
- You never know what a person has been through. Hugh and Elizabeth had a false impression of who Maria was based on the fact that she was a cleaner. In the end, they realised that Maria was just as hard-working and deserving of respect as everyone else.
Share this story with your friends and loved ones. Perhaps it will inspire them and brighten their day.
