'I Don't Have Toys Because of You!' Boy Blames Single Mom, Years Later Gifts Her Car as Apology – Story of the Day

Anita struggled to raise her son Andrew as a single mother. What made it even harder for her was how harshly her son treated her because of their financial woes. However, after an eye-opening night, Andrew learned not to take his mother for granted.

Andrew was raised by his single mother, Anita. His father passed away before he was born, so Anita did her best to raise Andrew the best she could.

Anita never got the chance to go to university. Her husband was in his final year of Engineering at university before he passed. They had agreed that she would be a housewife, watching over their home as he took on the role of the family breadwinner.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. After her husband's passing, Anita had to make a living however she could. She worked minimum wage jobs to keep food on the table for her and her son.

"No fair! You never have enough!"

Anita loved her son dearly and would go to the ends of the world for him. She worked two jobs to ensure she could provide for Andrew, but apparently, it was never enough.

One day as Anita and Andrew were at the grocery store, he said something that would break her heart. They were shopping for their Sunday dinner as they often would.

Andrew saw a toy he wanted dearly and asked his mother to get it for her. It was mid-month, and Anita was on a tight budget.

"Mom, please! It's just one toy!" Andrew said.

"I'm sorry, my baby. Mommy can't get it for you right now. I don't have enough money. Maybe next time," Anita assured him.

"No fair! You never have enough!" he exclaimed.

Andrew then went on to cause a scene, throwing a tantrum as his mother looked on, nearly in tears.

" You always say the same thing! Don't you go to work? Why are you always so poor? What do you go to work for if you can never get me anything? I hate you!" Andrew snapped, throwing his half-eaten popsicle.

"Andrew! You stop that right now!" Anita said.

"No! My friends get everything they want! I can't even get one toy because of you!" Andrew maintained.

Andrew's words cut his mother deep. Besides the embarrassment of everyone hearing his child call her out with such disregard for Anita, it was how little he considered her efforts.

Anita understood that Andrew was still young and couldn't possibly appreciate her efforts. But it had always been the two of them. What hurt her the most was his complete disregard for their bond.

She had always tried to teach him the value of what lies within a person instead of materialistic things. But after his recent outburst, she felt she had failed him more than anything. Andrew had always complained about their financial troubles, but he never once talked to Anita that way.

"He's young; he doesn't understand. It's okay, Anita, just work harder. He'll soon understand."

A couple days later, it happened again. Andrew threw a fit as he gave his mother grief for not getting take-out. But this time, Anita was having none of it.

"Now, you stop it, Andrew! That's enough from you! I love you with all my heart, but you will not talk to me like that. You don't know half of what I have to go through to make sure you have a roof over your head, let alone a burger," proclaimed Anita.

"No! This is all your fault! If you worked harder like all the other parents, we wouldn't be poor!" Andrew said before running off.

Anita was defeated. Andrew was the center of her life, but he saw her as nothing but the thorn in his joy. She had to remind herself, "He's young; he doesn't understand. It's okay, Anita, just work harder. He'll soon understand."

One day as Andrew was asleep, he heard a loud bang as the door shut. He walked out to the corridor to see what the commotion was all about, and what he saw shocked him to the core.

His mother had passed out right there by the door, completely exhausted. Andrew finally began to understand just how hard his mother was working. His heart melted as he recalled how harshly he had treated her.

She just lay there, her clothes soiled with grease from the double shifts at the local diner. Andrew helped her to bed and brought her water afterward. Anita then revealed to him that she had, in fact, picked up yet another job to try to bring in extra income, and it was taking a toll on her.

"From this moment on, you will no longer work! I forbid you!"

After that day, Andrew started pulling his weight around the house. He stopped with the insults and rudeness and began to aid with household chores. As the years progressed, Andrew even got a job to help Anita with the bills.

By 15 years old, Andrew had a full-time job after school. Through the money he accumulated from that job, he could later pay most of his college tuition.

Anita was incredibly proud of the man Andrew was growing up to be. What pleased her the most was that he did not talk much about changing, but his actions spoke for themselves.

After college, Andrew got a good job with a car manufacturing company. One of the cars they produced was Anita's dream car, so after a couple months at his new job, he could purchase it for her.

Anita was so happy and didn't know what to say; she would have never thought her son would get her such a gift. But it didn't stop there. Andrew promised her;

"From this moment on, you will no longer work! I forbid you!"

"But, Andrew..." she said before he interrupted.

"No, mother. You have taken care of me all my life, and I was ungrateful for most of it. Now let me show my gratitude. I will earn enough for the two of us, and you, my dear, will sit back and enjoy your new life and your new wheels," Andrew concluded.

What can we learn from this story?

• Hard work pays off. Andrew was able to change things around for himself and his mother once he took the initiative to put the work in. In the same light, Anita's hard work sparked that very initiative in Andrew.
• Be grateful for what you have. Once Andrew learned to be grateful for his mother's efforts and provision, he could make the most of what he had and add value to it.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a boy who got his mother an ear aid so she could hear the song he wrote.

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.