Jenna is a mom who has no one else to help take care of her son. She has a job where she has to work a long time, helping the sick.
She feels bad that she can’t spend as much time with her son, so she tells him to find something he likes to do in his free time. But when she finds out where he’s going, she sees him in a new way.
Being a nurse who works night shifts is hard enough, but on top of that, being a mom is even harder.
This is the situation I’m talking about.
My sixteen-year-old son Devon is the most important person in my life. Since he was born, it has always been just the two of us.
Before, I could work and take care of you, but now my work hours have changed and I can’t be with you as much as I would like.
Luckily, Devon has tried different activities to find something he really enjoys. One day, while we were having dinner together, Devon told me he wanted to start taking art classes.
“That’s great!” I said, relieved that he took my advice seriously. “Where is she ?”
You will have an art class at school every other day after school. You will need a few art supplies, but the school will provide the rest you need.
He looked at me to see if we had enough money to buy it.
“I have this weekend free,” I replied. “We’ll get what you need.”
“Mom, I’ll do it after school,” he said with a smile. “We can do something else together on the weekend.
Devon was really happy to be able to do the things he loved. I had to work a lot, but I felt bad because I had to leave him alone for a long time.
A few weeks later, I had a day off and wanted to surprise him by picking him up from his art class. I also wanted to see what he was working on.
I sent him a message when I arrived at school so that he wouldn’t take the bus like he usually does.
Do you want to eat ice cream with mom? I’ll wait for you outside.
But I messaged someone and they didn’t respond. I thought maybe they were busy, so I stayed in the car and listened to the radio while waiting for them.
When Devon didn’t come out after thirty minutes, I went inside to find him.
I said hello to Ms. Cooper when I walked into the room where people are making art.
“Jenna!” she told me with a smile. “What can I help you with?”
“I’m looking for Devon,” I said.
I told him how Devon had told me about the art classes and the little drawings he’d left for me on the fridge.
Mrs. Cooper didn’t understand what I was saying. She told me that Devon didn’t go to any of the classes they had after school. I was very confused and worried, so I asked Mrs. Cooper if she knew where Devon was.
She stopped for a second, moving her feet back and forth.
“Perhaps you will find more answers there? » she added hopefully.
I got really scared when I went to the busiest place in town, where all the stores were.
I discovered something surprising at the butcher’s shop. Devon, who I thought was taking art classes, was actually working there in secret. They wanted to help me by taking on some responsibilities.
I felt really sad when I realized that Devon had noticed I wasn’t there and wasn’t ignoring it like most teenagers would. It made me cry. The things he said hurt me inside.
A few weeks ago I came here to get us some burgers. While I was here, Frank asked me if I wanted to work here sometime.
“Oh, honey,” I said, hugging him tightly. “You didn’t have to do that. You should not have done that.”
“But I wanted to do it,” he insisted. “I wanted to help you. I wanted to work so you wouldn’t have to do so much double shift at the hospital.”
At that moment, I felt both very happy and very sad. I was happy because my son had become an extraordinary person. Even though I wasn’t there, he had become exactly what I wanted him to be.
Finally, I allowed Devon to stop working and went to buy some things. When he was finished we went to eat the ice cream I wanted and talked about his work.
“I’ll stick to it, Mom,” he said shakily as he took a large scoop of ice cream.
“But you don’t have to,” she repeated. “I’ll be able to do my shifts, I promise.”
He said he really wanted it. It’s not that long, just three hours after school and until noon on Saturday. This will also help him save money.
I considered being strict with him and telling him to act like a child again.
However, I realized that he had suddenly grown up. My son became responsible and confident, so I had to trust his choices too. Have your children ever done something unexpected that surprised you?
