A son neglected his mother for years, only to feel guilty for never visiting despite her requests. Years later, he returned to their hometown to see her, only to find a graveyard instead of his mother’s house on their old property.

Caitlyn was in her 60s and lived in a small and quiet town. Her son, Gregory, chose to move to another city to pursue a career in the corporate world.

Since graduating from college, Gregory had not visited his mom. They only kept in touch through the phone for several years, until one day, Caitlyn couldn’t help herself anymore and planned a visit to Gregory’s new hometown.

Caitlyn boarded a bus and went to where her son lived. She received letters from him in the past, so she went to the address indicated in his envelopes.

Unfortunately, when she rang the doorbell, someone else answered the door. “Hi, I’m sorry to bother you,” Caitlyn said. “Does Gregory Smith, my son, still live here?”

The stranger was confused until he remembered the name. “Ah, Gregory. No, he moved. I bought this house from him,” he revealed.

Caitlyn was saddened by the stranger’s response and disappointed that Gregory never told her that she had moved out of his house. She looked down, defeated, wondering what she’d do until the next bus ride back to her town, still in a couple of hours.

Then a neighbor approached her as she stood on the sidewalk. “Are you looking for Gregory?” she asked.

Caitlyn nodded. “Do you know my son?”

The woman revealed that she and Gregory still kept in touch. She gave Gregory’s office address, and Caitlyn made her way there excitedly.

As she got to Gregory’s office building in the town’s business district, she was amazed to see so many skyscrapers. She entered the building and rode up the elevator, and she suddenly started to feel dizzy and uncomfortable. She was not used to such great heights.

Once she got to the floor written on the piece of paper, a receptionist greeted her at the door. “How can I help you?” she asked.

“Hello, I’m here to see Gregory Smith. Is he here?” Caitlyn told her, looking past the receptionist’s table and into the office space.

“May I know who you are?” the receptionist replied.

“I’m Caitlyn Smith. I’m his mother,” Caitlyn responded quietly. The receptionist seemed surprised to find out that Caitlyn was Gregory’s mother. She called his office to let him know that she was letting his mother in.

The receptionist led Caitlyn past a sea of cubicles until they reached a corner office with a floor-to-ceiling door. Caitlyn couldn’t believe how grown-up her son looked when she got in.

“Hi, Greg,” she said, hugging her son tightly. “I’m sorry for barging in at short notice. I just missed you and wanted to see how you were doing,” Caitlyn cried. “Why did you stop visiting? I haven’t heard from you in a couple of months, and your line was always busy. I didn’t know how to get in touch with you. That’s why I decided to leave town to see you.”

“I’m sorry, mom. I’ve been so busy with work. In the past couple of years, I haven’t done anything for my personal life. My job has been my life,” he explained. Caitlyn was saddened to hear this, as she had always taught her son not to be greedy.

“It’s okay, son,” she said quietly. “I understand. But… Mother’s Day weekend is coming up. Do you think you can drive to our house? I promise I’ll bake your favorite lemon pie!”

Gregory checked his calendar. “I don’t know, mom. I’m not sure if I can make it. My superior needs me round the clock, and if he calls me on that weekend and I’m out of town, my promotion might be thrown out the window. I’m so close,” he replied.

Caitlyn sighed, holding back her tears. She nodded and said she did not want to interfere with her son’s work. “Seeing you today is good enough for me,” she told him, and she returned home that same day.

Two years passed, and Gregory did not visit his mom. However, that year, he overheard his colleagues talk about Mother’s Day and their plans for their mothers and wives. Gregory remembered his mother and felt guilty that he had neglected her for so long.

He drove to his old hometown, excitedly driving towards the house where he was born and raised. When he got there, to his surprise, his mother wasn’t there, and there was no home either. What he saw was an open field with several fresh graves.

“What? What happened here?” he said to himself. “It can’t be…”

He rushed to the gravesite to check whether his mother’s name was on any of the graves. He was relieved to find out that it wasn’t. “Where is she now?” he sighed, suddenly growing nervous.

Gregory went from house to house until someone could tell him where his mother was. He ended up discovering that she lived in a small trailer and he rushed to get there.

As soon as he saw her, he gave her a tight hug. “Oh, mom, I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Caitlyn was surprised, as she never thought Gregory would come to see her. “I didn’t expect you to come,” she said.

“I was so afraid of losing you, mom. I’m sorry for not being with you for so many years. I can’t believe I let all that time go to waste,” Gregory said with tears in his eyes. “What happened to your house?”

Caitlyn explained that she had taken out a loan when Gregory moved out of town to go to college. She took out another loan to pay for his first car but could not repay the loan.

“I lost our land because I could not take care of the farm alone. I could not repay the bank, so I tried to ask you for help, but I saw how busy and stressed you were with work. I didn’t want to burden you, so I sold our house to pay everything off,” Caitlyn revealed.

“Mom, you should have told me. This is happening because of me,” he said, feeling more guilty.

“Son, I didn’t want to be a burden to you. All I want is for you to be happy. Don’t worry about me; I am fine here,” she assured him.

Gregory wept and continued to hug his mother. He apologized profusely, asking for forgiveness for neglecting her for many years. She forgave him and said he had nothing to worry about.

“Don’t worry, son. All I ask is if you have time, visit me more often. I love you very much and think of you every day. At this old age, it’s hard for me to leave town,” she admitted.

Gregory wasn’t going to allow his mother to have a hard time ever again. He bought her a new home and relocated to her city by quitting his job and starting a new business.

What can we learn from this story?

Spend time with your loved ones before it’s too late. Time is gold, and Gregory was lucky to realize this before it was too late. He neglected his mother for years until he realized that he should have never done this in the first place.
It’s never too late to start again. Despite the promotions waiting for him, Gregory dropped his job to spend more time with his mother. This allowed him to begin anew by putting up his own business and putting more importance on his personal relationships.