Boy gets up earlier every day before school. Dad follows him and…
There are many prejudices that teenagers are lazy and think only of themselves. Sure, there are many examples of irresponsible teenagers and some media often stereotype teenagers as delinquents and rebellious criminals, but in my opinion, one should always be careful before judging a book by its cover, and the protagonist of our story is living proof of this.
Romon Mitchell was a 14-year-old boy who looked nothing like other kids his age. Mitchell had lived with his father Thomas in an ice house in central Minnesota since he was 9 years old. His mother died of a sudden stomach cancer that doctors could do nothing about, leaving him and his father alone and completely heartbroken. Probably for that reason, Romon was not a normal boy. His heart had suffered a lot for his young age and that had made him mature much faster than the rest.
As a result, despite being an excellent student with a record that rarely fell below a B, Mitchell felt profoundly lonely in high school. The young man found it difficult to fit in with his class and had no group of friends to talk to and share his concerns. He simply felt he couldn’t share his feelings with anyone else because he knew no one would understand. He was too complex for a class full of love-sick 14-year-olds who only thought about playing games and girls.
His father was aware of his son’s social problems and tried to help him as much as he could, but it wasn’t easy. Mitchell was a very private boy when it came to his feelings and although he could understand his father’s concern, he wouldn’t allow him to get close enough to help him and find out what was really going on.
Did that mean that Romon had no friends or that he was suffering from some sort of undiagnosed depression? No.
Every morning, Romon got up an hour earlier than usual and went out the back door of his house. He’d quickly get dressed, have some milk and a couple of cookies for breakfast, grab his school bag, and leave quietly so as not to wake his father. And the same would happen in the late afternoon when, after school, instead of going home for a snack and homework, Mitchell would be an hour late, claiming he was in the library studying or doing extra work with his classmates.
At first, his father didn’t think much of his son’s unusual tardiness, nor of his eagerness to wake up so early and be the first to eat breakfast and leave the house for school. He knew that his son was a very good student and wanted to get good grades so that he would have good options in the future and attend a prestigious university in the country.
However, everything changed one morning when Mr. Thomas woke up early for a work meeting. As he was getting dressed in his room, Thomas saw his son Romon sneaking out of the backyard and making sure no one saw him. He’d never seen his son act like that before. He couldn’t understand his son’s mysterious new behavior in recent weeks and found it impossible to guess the real reason why he was doing it. So, he didn’t hesitate to follow him to see where he was going and solve the mystery once and for all.
The father was really worried about his young son, whom he felt he was not paying enough attention to because of his work. However, what he would discover a few minutes later he would never have imagined and would dispel his fears once and for all. His son was not running away to commit a crime, nor was he using strange substances, much less was he doing it to meet a girl. Nothing of the sort.
Thomas Mitchell was speechless when he saw his son enter his neighbor’s house. He would never have believed that this was the reason his son had been acting so mysteriously in recent weeks. After waiting for several minutes hidden behind a tree, Thomas could see Romon come out loaded with garbage bags and then head toward the bins at the end of the street. Why would he do that?
After that, he decided he shouldn’t keep watching and sped off to his appointment at work. But when he returned in the evening, he decided to confront his son.
“Every day before I went to school I got up very early to visit my elderly neighbors and check on them,” confess the big-hearted young man.
Since he was a child, he and his family have lived across the street from an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison, whom Romon had come to enjoy very much when he was younger and whom he held in highest esteem.
His father was relieved and at the same time very proud. It was clear that his son was doing nothing wrong. There was no reason to worry.
It turned out that little Romon had never forgotten his neighbors, a lovely elderly couple who’d seen him at birth and with whom his parents had an excellent relationship, or at least they did until the boy’s mother passed away. After becoming a widower, Thomas Mitchell withdrew from everyone, including his neighbors, and their relationship suffered greatly.
However, Romy never forgot them and how much he loved spending time with them when he was younger. His father had no idea, but the teenager never forgot to say hello to his elderly neighbors every day before he left for school. Mrs. Morrison would be in her garden tending to her flowers, and when she saw him leave, she would greet him. She would ask him how he was and wish him a nice day, day after day, never failing. Her husband was also at her side, as both were concerned for the boy’s welfare.
As Mitchell grew older, their conversations grew longer, and he loved spending time listening to the sage advice and funny stories the old woman and her husband told him. Until suddenly, during a cold January morning, neither of the two elders were around.
Mitchell didn’t think anything of it and believed that since it was so cold, the old couple preferred to stay in bed resting. The next day he returned in the hope of finding them, but they weren’t there. That set off all the alarms in the boy, who the next day, instead of waiting outside to see them from the street, decided to knock on their door to find out what was going on.
The Morrisons were 84 and 86 years old, and in recent years their health had deteriorated greatly, especially that of Mrs. Elsa Morrison, who was suffering from severe bone pain and could only move around with the help of a cane or her husband. In recent weeks, however, the pain was so profound that she hadn’t even left her bed.
Upon finding out the truth, Romon didn’t hesitate for a moment and offered to help them with whatever they needed.
“Tell me what you need I’ll bring it to you it’ll be a pleasure for me to help you please let me collaborate and make things easier for you you’ve always been there for me now I want to return the favor,” said the boy, very affected by the repeated health problems of his neighbors.
The elders didn’t want to be a bother to the boy and told him it was better for him to spend his time studying and having fun with his friends, but seeing the boy’s insistence, they couldn’t refuse.
Since their health began to deteriorate, Romon had started visiting the couple every morning before school to see if they needed help with anything. He is under no obligation to help them, but he wants to because he hates seeing people suffering in silence. Often, the young man would go shopping for them, he’d throw out the garbage for them, fix their yard, or take their little dog, a very affectionate 12-year-old and old Chihuahua who needed as much love and attention as his owners. Whatever they needed, the young man was there for them with unwavering loyalty.
And that’s when the boy’s father figured it all out. For weeks, he monitored the teenager’s moves and silently watched all the things he did to help his neighbors. No doubt, Romon’s father was very proud of the kind person his son was becoming, demonstrating a generosity and altruism that’s hard to find nowadays.
“I didn’t want to say anything to you because I know it’s hard for you to share how you feel with me and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable but I’ve been watching you for weeks and I want you to know that I’m very proud of you you don’t have to really I approve it’s a beautiful thing I just wanted to ask you one question why didn’t you tell me you were still in touch with him,” his father confessed to him one night, deeply moved by his son’s actions.
Mitchell blushed to hear his father talk like that, but after a few seconds of awkward silence, he cleared his throat and told him the truth.
“Because I know talking to them makes you think about Mom and that makes you very sad after she died you stopped talking to everyone and I think you’re still avoiding going back to old relationships because you can’t get over the emptiness mom left us when she died that’s why I didn’t tell you the Morrisons were good friends and mom was very fond of them I know she would have done the same for them,” the boy answered honestly, making his father emotional.
“How quickly you’ve grown up my son I’m so proud of you,” his father told him between tears while hugging him tightly.
However, Mr. Thomas would not be the only one surprised by the teenager’s kindness. The couple’s daughter, Tiki Morrison Edwards, unfortunately lived far away from her parents and could barely visit to help them. Luckily, during one of her visits to the city, Tiki discovered that Romon took care of her parents and she felt very grateful to him. For her, it is a sense of security to know that her mother and father lived near such a loving teenager who helped them on a daily basis.
Her gratitude was so great that the 34-year-old woman didn’t hesitate to publicly share her gratitude with the boy and explain everything he’d done for her parents for months through an emotional post on Facebook.
“I just want to take a moment to acknowledge this sweet friend who lives across the street from my parents house he goes to see them every day and has come to love and care for them deeply he accompanies dad to the store helps him shop and brings him groceries M Delan and whatever else they need he’s a blessing to them,” she wrote.
The boy’s bond with their lives became so strong that when Tiki’s mother, Mrs. Elsa Morrison, ended up in the hospital, the 14-year-old Romon didn’t hesitate to spend the whole afternoon by her side and gave her a big hug, which meant a lot to the elderly woman who couldn’t help but burst into tears.
“When he saw mom today he burst into tears and hugged her tight what a blessing and I just wanted to pass on something comforting instead of the sad news we see and hear every day,” said Tiki, very moved.
Luckily, a few weeks later, the elderly woman was able to return home to continue recovering from severe pneumonia, and there were no regrets.
For his part, Tiki’s Facebook post soon became famous and within days was full of comments and likes congratulating the teenager for his kindness and thanking him for taking care of his elders and setting a good example to other kids his age.
Romon felt very grateful for the support he received on social networks, but for him, the only important thing was to keep doing the right thing and stand by his friends until the end. Mitchell wasn’t lonely and had already found someone to spend his free time with and share his thoughts with. The 14-year-old boy and the elderly couple built an unusual but loving friendship that would restore little Mitchell’s hopes and soothe the loneliness he’d been feeling since his mother’s death.
Romon Mitchell, 14, is a shining example of how to be a good human being. So the next time you hear somebody complaining about today’s youth, remember that there are a lot of good young people out there who really care.
We constantly see how certain groups want to turn people against people, old people against young people, whites against blacks, Muslims against Christians, etc., but I truly believe that most people want to do good and have good hearts. So maybe we should focus more on all the positive things happening in our world instead of complaining. Let’s highlight the positive examples like Romon. God bless this kind-hearted young man. His parents should be very proud of what a wonderful and loving person he is.
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