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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A son is so ashamed of his one-eyed mother that he hides her away from the world and refuses to allow her to come to his graduation.<\/p>\n
Most people didn\u2019t know that Derek Ryder had a mother. When his friends talked about their parents, Derek just clammed up. He never invited any of his friends over to play video games or to watch a movie.<\/p>\n
In fact, from primary school all the way to his senior year in high school, no one ever set foot inside Derek\u2019s house, not ever. When he started dating a girl, he\u2019d tell her: \u201cLook, babe, my mother is funny religious, she won\u2019t let me date\u2026\u201d \u2014 but it was all a big lie so he wouldn\u2019t have to introduce her.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The ugly truth was that Derek was ashamed of his mother. He didn\u2019t want people to know that she was a freak, like something out of a horror movie. Derek\u2019s mom had only one eye, and the left side of her face was a mass of scars.<\/p>\n
Gail Ryder had been like that for as long as Derek could remember. When he was little, he hadn\u2019t even noticed \u2014 she was just his mom, but as he grew older, he saw how people reacted to her.<\/p>\n
His mom wasn\u2019t like other people, he realized, his mom was UGLY. The first day he went to school he saw how the other moms flinched even though his mom wore huge dark glasses and a hat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want you to take me to the gate, mom!\u201d he told her that night. \u201cI can walk in on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut honey, all the other moms take their children to class\u2026And you\u2019re still small!\u201d Gail had said.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a FREAK!\u201d Derek had screamed. \u201cI heard Bobby\u2019s mom say so and now they will all say I\u2019m a freak too!\u201d<\/p>\n
Remorse is a burden the unkind carry for the rest of their lives.
\nAnd so Gail had never again come into the school. She\u2019d drop Derek off, and drive away, tears pouring down her right cheek. Her son was ashamed of her, and it broke her heart.<\/p>\n
As for Derek, he was fine as long as Gail stayed out of his public life \u2014 he pretended she was a recluse, a religious fanatic, anything that would keep people from knowing the truth.<\/p>\n
But when graduation came around, Derek was in a quandary. He had been named valedictorian and the headmaster had clapped him on the back. \u201cWell, my man, I hope we finally meet your mother!\u201d he said. \u201cI want to congratulate her personally!\u201d<\/p>\n
His mother? Derek couldn\u2019t bring his mother to graduation! Everyone would know! But what could he do? That night, found himself an agency that represented character actors and he hired himself an actress.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The woman he chose was the perfect image of the woman he\u2019d always wished was his mom. Pretty, kind-faced, unscarred. Derek carefully coached the woman on how she was to dress and what she should say and arranged for his pseudo-mom to pick him up from his home.<\/p>\n
When Gail saw Derek in his graduation cape, she gasped. \u201cDerek! Is it today? Oh just give me time to get dressed!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDressed? For what?\u201d asked Derek.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy, to go to your graduation, honey!\u201d Gail replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going!\u201d Derek told her coldly. \u201cI\u2019ve spent my entire life hiding you, do you think I want you on the most important day of my life, showing your ugly face?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gail\u2019s one eye filled with tears. \u201cDerek,\u201d she whispered. \u201cHow can you be so cruel?\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cFace it, mom, you\u2019re a freak, OK?\u201d Derek screamed. \u201cI\u2019ve been ashamed of you all my life. I\u2019ve hired someone to take your place, do you understand now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gail was deadly pale. She nodded. \u201cOh my son,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry\u2026\u201d But Derek had turned his back and was out of the door. Two weeks later, he left home and went to college in California.<\/p>\n
Derek never contacted his mother again, but ten years later, he was informed that his mother had passed away. The funeral had been arranged by her friends, but she had left Derek her house, and a substantial estate.<\/p>\n
A substantial estate? Derek was stunned. True, his mother had paid for his college education, sending the checks every single month, accompanied by letters Derek never read, but he never imagined there\u2019d be much left.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1b3dab874780f2dce0079c45ea571a09-300x200.webp\")
<\/p>\n
So Derek flew back home and met with his mother\u2019s lawyer, Terry Arlington. \u201cWell, Mr. Ryder, your mother left you close to $700,000 plus the house, which is estimated to be worth over $1.5 million\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2026I don\u2019t understand! My mother lived a modest life\u2026My father left her I believe, and he gave her nothing\u2026\u201d Derek exclaimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the insurance, and the compensation, of course,\u201d said Arlington. \u201cSurely you know about those?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d said Derek bewildered. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Ryder, when you were three years old you approached a strange dog in the park. When your mother saw that, she threw herself between you and the animal,\u201d Arlington explained. \u201cAs a result, she was viciously mauled, blinded, and scarred for life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2026It would have been me\u2026\u201d whispered Derek, tears filling his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always considered your mother one of the bravest and most selfless people I\u2019ve ever known, Mr. Ryder, a true hero,\u201d Arlington said gently. \u201cYou must have been very proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek walked out with the lawyer\u2019s last words ringing in his ears. He walked to the cemetery, found his mother\u2019s grave, and knelt down, tears streaming down his face.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/1d739acddb3d62572c1aa5038badd6ff-300x200.webp\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cOh mom,\u201d he whispered. \u201cYou saved me and I treated you so cruelly\u2026Oh mom, forgive me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
From that day on, Derek vowed to hide nothing about his past. He found one of the few photos of his mom with her big glasses on to hide the scars and put it on his desk.<\/p>\n
Every time he looked at it he remembered her sacrifice and her kindness and remembered how selfish and cruel he\u2019d been.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ezzuye.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/13b4cc8f6fc3c3958dd06da8058c573d-300x200.webp\")
<\/p>\n
What can we learn from this story?<\/p>\n
Be proud of your mother and father, no matter who they are or what they look like. Derek was vain and selfish and treated his mother with disdain because she was disfigured.
\nRemorse is a burden the unkind carry for the rest of their lives. When Derek discovered his mother was maimed saving him, he never forgave himself for his cruelty.
\nShare this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A son is so ashamed of his one-eyed mother that he hides her away from the world and refuses to allow her to come to his graduation…. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n