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<\/p>\nMarissa was ashamed because her mother only wore shabby clothes and she didn\u2019t want to introduce her to her girlfriends. But a kind stranger taught her a big lesson she would never forget.<\/p>\n
Marissa\u2019s mom, Esme, raised her as a single mother when her father took off, and they never had much money to spend. Esme worked harder than anyone to provide for her daughter, but she had to scrimp a lot over the years.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Marissa\u2019s best friends were obsessed with clothes and social status, so she lied to them about her family, hoping they would never realize the truth or meet her mother. Marissa only wore great clothes because her mother was an expert thrift shopper.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Esme never bought anything for herself. She dressed in simple clothing, and her shoes were horribly tattered, but she refused to throw them away. Although she loved her mother, Marissa was ashamed of the way she dressed. But one day would change their lives\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Mom. I\u2019m going to the mall to meet up with a few friends. I\u2019ll be back later,\u201d Marissa told Esme one afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh! How about I come with you? I haven\u2019t been to the mall in ages!\u201d she suggested.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you don\u2019t like going to the mall. You always say everything is overpriced, and we shouldn\u2019t buy stuff there,\u201d Marissa added, hoping her mother would change her mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, we don\u2019t have to buy clothes to have some fun. And I want to meet your friends. How about it?\u201d Esme continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess\u2026\u201d Marissa mumbled. She couldn\u2019t think of any reason to say no to her mother. But she was dreading this outing. When they reached the mall, she saw Rosie and Danielle waiting at Starbucks just like they agreed.<\/p>\n
She rushed to them and left her mother who was walking a few steps behind. \u201cHey, girls!\u201d Marissa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey! You\u2019re here. Let\u2019s check out some clothes at this store right here,\u201d Rosie greeted and suggested.<\/p>\n
\u201cHmm\u2026 did you come with that lady? She\u2019s looking at us,\u201d Danielle said suddenly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I don\u2019t know who that is. I came here alone,\u201d Marissa answered after hesitating for a second. She saw her mother stop in her tracks and her face fall, but there was no going back. \u201cLet\u2019s just go walk around first.\u201d<\/p>\n
The girls started walking away, while Esme stayed there in shock. Her own daughter told her friends she didn\u2019t know her. Why would she do something like that? Esme didn\u2019t know what to do until a well-dressed lady approached her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, ma\u2019am. I\u2019m Poppy,\u201d the lady greeted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, hello,\u201d Esme said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry to intrude, but I saw what happened with those girls. I\u2019m assuming that one is your daughter?\u201d Poppy asked gesturing towards Marissa.<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, yes. She\u2019s my daughter, but I\u2019m so confused. I can\u2019t believe she said she didn\u2019t know me and walked away like that,\u201d Esme continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, how about we go into this store and shop as girlfriends do?\u201d Poppy suggested.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I\u2019m sorry. I can\u2019t afford any of the clothes in here, but I can accompany you,\u201d Esme answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry about money today. It\u2019s all on me,\u201d Poppy assured her. Esme followed this kind lady, not understanding why she was so nice to a stranger. But it was a nice change after her daughter publicly shunned her.<\/p>\n
They tried on several dresses, and Poppy convinced her that one dress looked amazing on her. \u201cI\u2019m definitely buying that one for you,\u201d Poppy told Esme.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, no. I couldn\u2019t possibly accept. It\u2019s so expensive,\u201d Esme countered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t hear it. I\u2019m buying it, and that\u2019s final. We\u2019re also going to need to swap these slippers for a set of beautiful shoes,\u201d Poppy told the salesperson helping them. She found a pair of stilettos that fit Esme perfectly, but she had never worn such fancy things before in her life.<\/p>\n
Esme left the store wearing her new clothes, and Poppy invited her for coffee. \u201cCan I ask you something?\u201d Esme said. \u201cWhy are you so kind and generous to someone you don\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I was once in your daughter\u2019s place,\u201d Poppy began. \u201cMy parents were not wealthy either. They gave me the best they could, but they never had nice clothes. I was also ashamed of them. But I lost them in an accident shortly after my high school graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I\u2019m so sorry,\u201d Esme replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you. It was the hardest moment of my life. But then, their lawyer contacted me. I learned that my parents had barely scraped by my entire life because they were saving for my college education,\u201d Poppy continued. \u201cThey even saved more than I needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do as well. It hasn\u2019t been easy with this current economic crisis, but I\u2019ve been saving for Marissa\u2019s future,\u201d Esme revealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly. In the end, I could never make up for all the times I felt ashamed of them. I felt so much guilt for many years, and I saw myself in your daughter earlier,\u201d Poppy explained. \u201cI hope that by doing this for you, my parents would forgive me from heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure they forgave you many years ago when you realized what you did wrong,\u201d Esme consoled Poppy. Just then, Marissa entered the coffee shop and saw her in that new dress.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom! Where did you get that dress? And those shoes?\u201d Marissa asked as she approached with her girlfriends.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom? I\u2019m not your mother, young lady,\u201d Esme answered. Poppy smiled at Marissa\u2019s shocked face, and Esme couldn\u2019t contain her laughter for long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry about earlier. Guys, this is my mother, Esme, and her friend,\u201d Marissa said after seeing them both laughing. The young girls sat down, and Poppy told them everything that happened including why she bought Esme these clothes. Needless to say, Marissa learned a huge lesson that day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Marissa was ashamed because her mother only wore shabby clothes and she didn\u2019t want to introduce her to her girlfriends. But a kind stranger taught her a… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n