Most of us lead extremely busy lives, whether we’re rushing off to work or juggling a ton of family and civic responsibilities. Perhaps we’re the young mom tasked with taking the kids to daycare, doing the weekly shopping, 0r taking care of an elderly parent. Perhaps we’re the dad working late at the office, coaching his young children at Little League, or perhaps taking them to weekend soccer practice.
Moreover, attempting to fit all of those commitments within a 24-hour day and then waking up the next morning and doing it all over again… it’s enough to exhaust the heartiest among us.
And perhaps that’s the reason why this random act of kindness went viral on social media.
A little boy sitting alone under a tree in a busy island shopping center parking lot with motorists slowly weaving in and out of parking spaces apparently didn’t raise much concern. That is, until a 14-year old girl spotted the young boy with his head bowed, decided to intervene.
The young girl and her mother had just finished shopping and were on their way home when she noticed the young boy with his legs crossed sitting on the narrow island with his back resting against a tree.
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Realizing that the young boy may be in danger the young girl pleaded with her mother to stop the car, exclaiming “It’s too hot mama.”
Startled and somewhat confused by her daughter’s sudden demand Tionae Thomas pulled over and parked the family car. What followed next was a random act of kindness from the strangers.
Overwhelmed by her daughter’s take-charge kindness, Tionae looked on as her daughter instructed the young boy to get off the narrow island and move to a safer place in front of the Rite Aid drugstore. That way he wouldn’t be hit by rushing motorists darting in and out of the shopping mall.
The young boy looked like he was most likely in elementary school and he told the young girl he didn’t have a cell phone to call his dad. At this point Tionae’s daughter handed him her cell phone and also realized that it would be a little while before his dad would come to fetch him.
Getting back into the car with her mom, the young girl asked if they could wait. She didn’t want to leave the boy alone. She was concerned that he was sitting under the tree for such a long time in such warm weather that he most assuredly needed a bottle of water.
Tionae Thomas was so moved by her young daughter’s act of kindness, she decided to post the incident on Facebook.
“My 14-year-old daughter (and I) were on the way home and she saw a elementary kid sitting under a tree in a shopping center. She said, ‘It’s too hot momma stop the car.’ She then asked the boy ‘Where are your parents?’ The boy said, ‘I don’t know.’ She said ‘Can you call them?’ He said ‘I only have my dad’s number.”
Thomas continued recalling the incident, than proclaimed; “This is why I will never let a person tear me down as a mother. This is just confirmation of the kind of children I’m raising, Queens and kings.”
The Facebook post under the banner “Love What Matters” went viral, as hundreds of followers chimed in approvingly.
It was later learned through a family member that the little boy’s parents had recently divorced and apparently their schedules had gotten confused. Thankfully, a much needed random act of kindness by a stranger reunited a stranded little boy with his parents.