People often make unnecessary judgments without knowing someone’s story. This was the case with María, who worked every day to give her son the best chance at a bright future. One day, she proved everyone’s assumptions wrong.
María’s life had always been an uphill battle. She came from a poor background and, despite her best efforts, it never seemed to be enough. She dedicated her life to making sure her son, Andrés, had the best education possible.
She worked for a cleaning company as a janitor and often struggled to make ends meet. María worked 12-hour shifts daily to ensure she could provide the food and care Andrés needed. Once he was old enough, she sent him to a good boarding school in the suburbs for high school.
“I’m going to work very hard to make sure you can go to college. Mom will take care of it, okay?” she told Andrés before he boarded the bus. María made sure to write to her son whenever she could.
Years later, Andrés excelled in science and told her he had the chance to work as an observer for a doctor at a major clinic. He decided that’s what he wanted to be when he grew up. Andrés also told María he had met a girl named Linda while working, and they had started dating.
It turned out Linda was the daughter of another doctor from the clinic Andrés had visited. “Listen, son, I don’t want your heart to be broken. But Linda comes from a wealthy family, and her family might look down on you,” María wrote to her son.
“Don’t worry, Mom. She knows where we come from and doesn’t care. She loves me for who I am. Trust me, you’ll see,” Andrés replied. He and Linda stayed together after graduating from high school and attended the same university.
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When María met Linda, she understood why Andrés loved her so much. Linda was humble and didn’t judge María for where she worked. When Andrés revealed he and Linda were engaged, María gave her blessing immediately.
María decided to host an engagement party at a local restaurant to celebrate and meet Linda’s parents, Hugo and Elizabeth.
“I don’t think that will happen, María. My parents are very snobby, so when they found out about Andrés’s background, they didn’t give their blessing,” Linda revealed.
After some time, Hugo and Elizabeth reluctantly gave Andrés their blessing and agreed to pay for the wedding. The ceremony was quite extravagant. Linda wore a designer wedding dress her grandmother had given her. The cake was huge, and Hugo had hired a famous chef to handle the food.
María finally had the chance to meet Hugo and Elizabeth, but they didn’t treat her kindly. When asked about her degree, María replied, “I didn’t have the opportunity to finish my studies because Andrés’s dad left me, and I had to raise him alone.”
“Well, if we hadn’t worked hard, we wouldn’t have been able to give Linda all this,” Elizabeth replied disdainfully. Hugo and Elizabeth had VIP guests, including renowned businessmen from across the city. When asked who María was, they seemed embarrassed to reveal she was the groom’s mother.
After the vows and “I do,” it was the families’ turn to give speeches. Hugo and Elizabeth were the first to take the stage to congratulate the newlyweds on their union. Then they revealed their gift, which surprised Andrés and Linda because Hugo had already paid for the wedding.
Here is the English translation:
⸻
“We are very sorry. We mistreated you from the moment we met you.”
“We know you both are looking for a house and will move in together soon. So we will pay for all your furniture and appliances,” Hugo revealed.
“Once you find a house, it will be fully furnished,” Elizabeth added. The gift was met with applause from the attendees. Hugo and Elizabeth watched proudly at the reaction. Beside the stage stood María. Many guests began to whisper and murmur, as everyone expected a gift that would be quite modest in comparison.
María wiped away a tear of joy as she congratulated the newlyweds. She didn’t care what others thought. She was proud of her son and daughter-in-law. But what she said next shocked everyone at the wedding party.
“I worked my whole life and saved to pay for college tuition because I knew it would be expensive. Then you decided you wanted to be a doctor, and I thought, ‘Ohh, even more expensive,’” María joked.
She noticed that Hugo and Elizabeth were laughing at her, not with her. María searched her purse for an envelope before continuing.
“The funny thing is, you still got a scholarship to study medicine, so you didn’t even need all the money I saved. Now that you’re about to earn your doctorate and marry this brilliant young woman, what better way to congratulate you than by buying you a house,” María revealed.
The entire wedding party was left breathless in shock when María opened her envelope and handed a set of keys to Andrés and Linda. Everyone stood up to applaud, while Hugo and Elizabeth were stunned. After the ceremony ended, Linda’s parents apologized to María.
“We are very sorry. We mistreated you from the moment we met you. We apologize for judging you. You have truly shown us how remarkable you are,” Elizabeth told María.
“Just remember, some of us may come from nothing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be something,” María replied.
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By the end of the year, Andrés had finished his doctorate and joined Hugo’s practice to work as a doctor. The young man insisted María stop working as a janitor. Hugo and Elizabeth also retired shortly afterward. Linda threw a retirement party for María, and Andrés bought her a new car to thank her for everything.
Soon, Andrés and Linda had their own children. María enjoyed her grandmother phase and dedicated herself to caring for the kids, a role she happily shared with Hugo and Elizabeth.
What can we learn from this story?
• Don’t take other people’s prejudices seriously: All María cared about was her son’s happiness and success. She didn’t let her in-laws’ prejudices affect her, and in the end, she proved everyone who looked down on her wrong.
• You never know what someone has been through: Hugo and Elizabeth had false perceptions of who María was based solely on the fact that she was a janitor. In the end, they realized María was as hardworking and deserving of respect as anyone else.