Lonely Elderly Woman Knits Socks for Poor Boy Next Door, He Asks Her to Be His Grandma Later — Story of the Day

An elderly woman decided to knit socks for her poor next-door neighbor's son, who was always left out in the cold. After getting to know one another, the boy asks the woman to be his grandmother.

Doris was a 68-year-old woman who lived alone. Her children had relocated to different countries, and her husband had already passed on.

So she would not feel lonely, Doris would take daily walks at the nearby park and spend the afternoon reading. It was a normal routine for her, usually spotting the same familiar faces who had already grown accustomed to seeing her there.

One day, however, she noticed a familiar face that she hadn't seen at the park before – her neighbor's son, Martin. He sat alone on a bench, observing his surroundings.

Doris was concerned that Martin was all alone. She decided to go up to him to ask where his mother was. "My mom will be here soon," he said quietly. "She's still at work."

"She left you here so she could work? Have you been here the entire day?" Doris asked the poor boy.

Martin nodded his head, explaining that his mom had just gotten a new job that required her to be out from 9 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. Doris checked her watch and saw it was half-past 2.

"I can't believe you're expected to stay in the park the entire day," Doris said in disbelief. "Have you eaten? Are you alright? It's not safe for you to be out here alone."

Martin raised a half-eaten burger for Doris to see. "I ate half of my sandwich for lunch. I'm going to eat the other half as a snack," he revealed.

Doris felt bad for the poor boy and asked him to finish the burger anyway. "Go ahead and eat that. I'll treat you to some snacks later, okay?" she said.

Not wanting to leave him all alone, Doris sat with the boy and waited for his mother to pick him up. A couple of hours passed, but his mother still did not show up.

Evening came, and Martin started to shiver. "My feet are cold," he admitted.

Doris checked on what Martin was wearing and saw that his socks were thin and worn out. She took out a shawl from her bag and wrapped it around the young boy's legs.

A couple of minutes later, Martin's mom, Lucy, appeared. She was surprised to see Doris with her son and had a guilty look on her face as soon as she saw them.

"Lucy, how could you leave your son out in the park the entire day with nothing but a sandwich?" she asked. "It's dangerous for him to be out here alone, especially if people notice he's here without supervision every weekday!"

Lucy apologized, almost in tears. She revealed that even though she wanted to take care of her son, she had to get a job because of their mounting bills to pay.

"It's my first day at my new job as a janitor. I decided to leave Martin at the park because that way, social services won't be able to flag me for leaving him at home. I can't lose my son, but I just have no choice but to leave him in order to work," she explained.

"I thought Martin went to kindergarten!" Doris said.

"I can't afford to send him to school yet. We've been struggling to eat, I can't afford to buy school supplies. I'm so ashamed to admit it, but I really had no choice but to leave him at the park." Lucy was in tears.

Doris knew that Lucy was trying her best but also felt bad that Martin had to stay out in the cold every single day. After all, it was nearing the end of autumn, and winter was coming.

The following day, Doris waited for Lucy to leave her apartment to go to work. She wanted to take care of Martin while Lucy was away and was going to offer to have him stay at her apartment instead.

She met Lucy outside her home, and Lucy shared that Martin was sick and had to stay home for the day. Doris understood that Lucy was risking being caught by social services leaving Martin unattended at home, so she decided to step in.

"I'd be happy to take care of Martin while you're away," she offered. "I can take him in, or I can stay with him in your apartment until you come back."

Lucy cried tears of joy upon hearing this, grateful that she had an understanding and compassionate neighbor like Doris. She allowed Doris to stay at their apartment, where Martin was still asleep.

"Go ahead to work. I've got you covered," Doris assured her, waving her goodbye.

As soon as Lucy left, Doris took out her knitting kit and started to make socks and a scarf for Martin. After realizing that he really wasn't feeling well because he was sound asleep and wouldn't wake up, she baked him a pie and cooked some hot soup with ingredients she took from her own apartment.

When Martin woke up, he immediately felt better upon seeing Doris at home with him. He slowly ate the soup and pie that she made for him while she clothed him with the newly-knitted socks and scarf, and he instantly felt better.

"Thank you, grandma Doris," he said with a smile on his face. "I am very happy!"

Doris and Martin spent the entire day together, exchanging stories while Martin recovered in bed. By the time Lucy arrived home, Doris had already set the table for dinner, which they enjoyed together before she went back to her own apartment.

The following day, Doris heard a knock on her front door. When she opened it, Martin was there with his mother.

"Hi, Doris," Lucy greeted her. "I know it's a weekend, but Martin here wouldn't stop talking about you all morning. He enjoyed spending time with you these past two days, and he said he instantly felt better after Doris cared for him," she shared.

"I made you a card," Martin said shyly, handing a handmade card to the elderly lady.

"Aww, Martin," Doris gushed. "You are so sweet!"

Doris took the card from Martin's hands and saw that it had a question written inside. "Will you please be my grandmother?" it read.

Doris couldn't help but feel touched by Martin's letter. "I would love to be your grandmother, son," she said, embracing him.

Since that day, Martin no longer had to wait for his mother at the park. Instead, he would stay home with Doris, and they'd walk to the park together to get some fresh air.

Doris became family to Lucy and Martin, and they always spent time together. Doris never felt alone ever again, as she now had two people she treated as her daughter and grandson.

What can we learn from this story?

• There will always be someone willing to help you. Lucy had no choice but to leave Martin at the park so she could work, without realizing that her next-door neighbor was more than willing to care for him while she was at work. There will always be people willing to help you – all you need to do is ask.
• Family doesn't always mean blood. Doris lived life alone because her children lived nowhere near her. Meanwhile, Lucy felt alone because she had to care for her son Martin alone. They eventually crossed paths and became each other's family, even though they were not blood relatives.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a girl who could not go to school because she had no clothes to wear, only for her teacher to step in and help her.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.