A mom broke down in tears when her adult son surprised her with a Barbie because her family couldn’t afford one when she was young.
Dinora Guadalupe Arguello Vasquez grew up in El Salvador working until she was 14 years old, before leaving at 15 for the U.S. to begin a new life so she could send money home to her parents.
Because she had to grow up so quickly, and despite her family’s best efforts, Dinora never had much as a child – and had always seen others with luxuries such as dolls.
Years later, after starting her own family and having children, her son Moises Martinez-Arguello, from Montréal, Canada, learned about Dinora’s upbringing and their humble roots.
He wanted to surprise her with a gift to thank her for her sacrifice and for his own upbringing, so bought her a Barbie doll because she never had one when she was young.
After opening the gift, Dinora immediately broke down in tears and pulled Moises in for a close hug as her emotions got the better of her.
Speaking of the moment, which happened July 27, Moises said: “I decided to give to my mother a Barbie because she never had one when she was young – she never had a childhood.
“I realized my mother had never had a beautiful childhood like the one I had so I wanted to give her the experience and also revive her inner child.
“I cried a lot that day, because I was very emotional seeing my mom crying and after the video she thanked me because she felt that a part of her healed.
“I encourage everyone to do something for their parents because it’s a great experience to see how much good something so small can do, everyone has an inner child.
“We should take care of our parents because they will not be present forever and sometimes, we forget they will leave one day.
“It is important to make as many memories as possible with them so we won’t have regrets and sometimes we forget they have been children too.”