Happy Friday: Flood of Compassion

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Happy Friday Boys

Sent from reader, Megan:

My family has been looking forward to a Christmas 2016 trip to Disney World for almost 2 years. My parents were paying for admission and lodging for my sister, my family of 6, my sister’s family of 7, and my brother’s family of 4. My boys have been faithfully saving their money to buy treats and souvenirs at Disney.

After severe widespread flooding devastated South Louisiana a few weeks ago, my parents and brother’s family lost their homes and many belongings, including my sister-in-law’s van. To intensify this tragedy, like thousands around them, they did not live in flood zones and do not have flood insurance. My devastated parents will use their savings to gut and repair their home/belongings, but my brother has been living on his savings, unemployed for a few months prior to the flood.

I was so touched when, instead of sulking about not being able to go to Disney, my 3 older boys (ages 9, 7, 4) came up with the idea to give their Uncle all the money they had saved for the Disney trip. They combined their money and bought him a gift card to Lowes and sent him a video message explaining how sorry they are that he lost his house and that they hope he can use their money to fix his house. My husband and I are so proud of them for being so thoughtful and compassionate, especially at their young ages.


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Comments 62

  1. Angela

    That is so sweet! Your boys are the cutest! I’m so sorry to hear about the flood, but in glad there is a happy ending to this story

  2. Ashley

    This breaks my heart and also warms it, what an amazing thing your kiddos did!

    • Sharon

      I agree. It makes me both happy and sad.

  3. Jacki

    You have raised great kids for doing that. Good job

  4. Bri

    What great little boys you have raised! You should be extremely proud!!

  5. Mo

    You are a great mom to have boys who would do something so amazing all on their own! Good job mom – and good job boys!

  6. Loyda

    God bless those kids! How beautiful was that!?

  7. Pia

    They are amazing and you should be very proud. God bless them. To be so young with such caring hearts already…. Wow.

  8. Sarah!!

    That’s so great of y’all to look on the positive!

  9. Tracey

    Wow! Such an amazing story. I love it and I’m going to share it with my kids.

  10. smellyann

    That’s so sweet and loving. Great kids you have there! ♥

  11. Cass

    How lovely!

  12. Princess

    You’ve done an amazing job, and your boys just made my ❤️ smile!!!!

  13. sara

    Love this….so sweet. Great job mom!

  14. Misty

    That’s so wonderful to read! Thank you for sharing. Very proud of your sons!

  15. Mrs Kimberly Walser

    What a nice story of unselfish love!!

  16. DonnaDB

    You should feel very proud that your children are empathic with the family. Your lessons are definitely getting through, prioritizing love and family .

  17. Mel

    This makes me teary. So sweet.

  18. Kristy

    These boys did not learn this behavior in their own. You guys modeled it to them in some way and they took note. Good job mom and dad!

  19. Holli

    I know many times as Moms/parents, we often wonder if we’re “doing it right”. Well, Megan, this is PROOF that you are doing something right! ❤
    You should be very proud (as I know you are) of how caring your kids are!
    What a great, heartwarming story! Thank you for sharing!!
    And so sorry to hear about your family’s losses in the recent flooding… In difficult times, prayer always helps me.. also, try listening to “The Sun Is Rising” by Britt Nicole…. God will bring you through this!!❤

  20. Kristen

    Too freakin sweet!!! Probably my favorite Happy Friday post ever!!!

    • Happymama

      Agreed! Thank you for sharing!! 🙂

  21. Queenmum

    Beautiful!! Your kids are little sweethearts. Well done mom!

  22. Vivian

    Awwwww soo sweet! You must be so proud!

  23. Sandy

    Way to go boys (& mom/parents)!

  24. Gretchen

    You AWESOME AWESOME MOM! Bless you all, I hope they are able to rebuild and recover!

  25. Tonya

    Awesome!!

  26. Emily

    My gosh, where is the GoFundMe for this family? I will happily put something toward tbeir rebuild.

    • Pdxsong

      I was thinking the same thing Emily! Let us know if you put a funding campaign together

      • Mark

        If your sons can contribute to rebuilding your relatives home, total strangers should be able to contribute also, a go fund me page would be a nice way to do that.

        • Megan

          All of you are so sweet to want to help. There is so much suffering and loss down there among our family and friends that we didn’t feel a GoFundMe was the right thing to do. If anyone feels moved to help my family, particularly my brother’s family, he will be frequenting Lowes as he rebuilds and could certainly benefit from Lowes e-gift cards or PayPal donations. His email address is laneb11@yahoo.com. Thank y’all for being so eager to help ease the burden of a stranger!

      • Megan

        Y’all are so sweet to want to help! There is so much suffering and loss down there among our family and friends that we didn’t feel setting up a GoFundMe was the right thing to do. If any of you feel moved to help my family, particularly my brother’s family, he will be frequenting Lowes as he rebuilds and could certainly benefit from Lowes e-gift cards or Paypal donations. His email address is laneb11@yahoo.com. Thank y’all for being so eager to help ease the burdens of strangers! God is so good and we have seen His hand blessing us through others!

  27. Julia L.

    That’s a beautiful story. You’re raising sweet kids! 💜

  28. thanks!

    This made me tear up. Such good, compassionate boys you have raised. They will make some women very happy later in life. Best wishes to you and your family as you try to repair during this difficult time.

  29. Guest

    Will this be posted to Facebook? I would love to share it

  30. Elizabeth

    What an amazing story! You’re doing a great job mama 😉

  31. Sarah

    I’m so sorry for your family’s loss 🙁 I’m glad everyone’s ok! U have raised such great boys!! Tell them so many ppl in the world are so proud of them!!! I hope your family is able to rebuild their homes and knows how lucky they are to have such a great supportive family! Xoxo

  32. Maria

    Megan, please e-mail me with your address, I will be happy to send your kids some Disney gift cards 🙂 au_tag@ Yahoo.

  33. dtphenal

    I think I know these families! Knowing them, these boys do not surprise me! Amazing parents who have taught their children, as the grandparents taught their family. Love them!

  34. Missy

    Love this! Thanks for sharing

  35. Lori

    I saw an online ad recently, I think from Minute Maid, to let parents know when they’ve done a good job raising their children – and you’ve done a great job, Megan!

  36. Kiesha

    Wow that is so amazing! To God be the glory! Amen!

  37. Maite

    Amazing kids!!! Brought tears to my eyes, and amazing parents as well! God bless you all!

  38. Dawn

    Megan, thank you for sharing a wonderful example of endless love. After a long weary week, what a pleasure to read your story. God bless you and your loved ones. 💗

  39. StephB

    Sounds like great parenting!! You are raising sweet companionate children… Keep up the great work. The world need more mothers and fathers like you two!! Lifting your family up in prayer🙏 for home recovery, car replacement and the job search! Thanks for making my night!!

  40. Debbie

    Amazing kids from amazing parents! (They didn’t get that way on their own)

  41. Laura

    So sweet! Great kids ur raising! Good job!!

  42. dena

    So awesome such kindness from such sweet little boy you go mama you raised them right

  43. Sherry B

    As a flood victim myself, this story warms my heart and gives me hope. There is honestly no way to explain the massive devastation surrounding us. I had NO IDEA what families were going thru after natural disasters. This one has changed my life. The amount of work that has to be done is astronomical, excruciating, and heartbreaking. 95% of the homes in my town of St Amant had water in them. Our high school flooded and has to be completely redone. There is a jamboree tonight to raise money for the athletic department who lost EVERYTHING. There’s not a chinstrap, helmet, jersey, baseball equipment…. NOTHING. My good friend is a kindergarten teacher and she said she will never take a Crayola crayon or a sheet of construction paper for granted again. Think about that! What an eye opener, eh? Life can change in an instant! One of the good things that came out of this was seeing everyone helping each other out. A Cajun Navy was formed and they rescued thousands of people. There has been so much racial tension with the police shooting in Baton Rouge, things were kind of scary for a while. But this disaster showed us all that the people of Louisiana love and care for each other no matter their skin color, the type of home they live in, their level of education, or anything else. We will rebuild and be stronger than ever! Anyway, I really didn’t mean to go into all that detail, I just wanted to say THANX to your boys for their generous gift to their uncle. That’s so awesome. This post really made my day. Thanks for sharing! God Bless those boys of yours! WHO DAT!! ⚜💪🏻

    • Megan

      Sorry to hear you’ve been affected by this too. I totally agree that our people pulled together at a time that seemed so grim with all the police shootings/protests just weeks before. My brother was part of the “Cajun Navy” who went back in on boat to rescue people and animals. There were so many heroic acts amidst the tragedy.

      • SherryBoux

        That’s so awesome Megan! I was fascinated watching them. They were incredible! Tell him I thank him for his service! I lost all my contents in my moms house but the mobile home I had just bought sits on one of the hardest hit areas (Stringer Bridge Rd) waiting to be moved to my lot but it didn’t get any water! Not even close! Thank God! I’m sad for the sentimental things I lost but I’m not stressed about replacing all the other stuff. I know Hip2Save will save me money on EVERYTHING I need! Haha! I hope your family fared well.

  44. Sherry Boux

    As a flood victim myself, this story warms my heart and gives me hope. There is honestly no way to explain the massive devastation surrounding us. I had NO IDEA what families were going thru after natural disasters. This one has changed my life. The amount of work that has to be done is astronomical, excruciating, and heartbreaking. 95% of the homes in my town of St Amant had water in them. Our high school flooded and has to be completely redone. There is a jamboree tonight to raise money for the athletic department who lost EVERYTHING. There’s not a chinstrap, helmet, jersey, baseball equipment…. NOTHING. My good friend is a kindergarten teacher and she said she will never take a Crayola crayon or a sheet of construction paper for granted again. Think about that! What an eye opener, eh? One of the good things that came out of this was seeing everyone helping each other out. A Cajun Navy was formed and they rescued thousands of people. There has been so much racial tension with the police shooting in Baton Rouge, things were kind of scary for a while. But this disaster showed us all that the people of Louisiana love and care for each other no matter their skin color, the type of home they live in, their level of education, or anything else. We will rebuild and be stronger than ever! Anyway, I didn’t mean to go into all that detail! I really just wanted to say “great job!” to your boys for helping their uncle & that this post just made my day! God bless your boys! WHO DAT!! ⚜💪🏻

  45. SherryBoux

    As a flood victim myself I just want to thank your boys for their kindness and generosity. These kinds of stories bring smiles & joy where it is much needed. God bless you boys! WHO DAT! ⚜💪🏻

    • SherryBoux

      If I had know an emoji would put all that scribble scrabble at the bottom of the post I wouldn’t have used them. LOL!

  46. Susan

    Beautiful children…inside and out!

  47. Jen Mc

    What wonderful hearts they have. You should be so proud! They must have learned that from kind and loving parents 🙂

  48. Yasuko Jung

    Your kids have such a beautiful heart and they are so inspiring…such a wonderful story…but they all came from you. God bless you!!

  49. rljohnston1974

    What an amazing story! It’s always a testament of the values and morals you’ve taught your children when they make selfless decisions like this. I wish someone at Disney would see this….

  50. Eva

    Those boys are being raised right! So grateful for hearts that care so much!

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