A son who vowed at age ten that after seeing his single mom’s car repeatedly break down, he would one day purchase her a new car brought her to tears when he finally fulfilled the promise a decade later.
Vanessa Bowers, 41, from Vancouver, Washington, raised her children alone from the time they were six and eight, and over the years she was forced to make some tough sacrifices.
Throughout the kids’ childhood, she put her need to update her unreliable car on the backseat, which saw numerous breakdowns cause Vanessa issues in getting the children to school and herself to work.
In total, Vanessa had around four cars, she said, with the vehicles each impacting her career.
Though never getting fired due to her vehicles’ unreliability, Vanessa – who worked first in homeless shelters and as a medical assistant – said she missed out on great opportunities because of such issues.
She also had to give up a job at a dermatology clinic 45 minutes from her home, as her car would sometimes break down in rush-hour traffic.
Such sacrifices were worth it, Vanessa thought, as even though she and the boys had moved from their childhood home, she wanted to keep them in the same school district.
But little did she know that son Tyler, then aged 10, had made a vow that, one day, he would purchase his mom the new car she so desperately needed.
Fast forward 11 years, and Tyler, now in a position to work, decided to save enough money to make the gift a reality.
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Over the space of a week, Tyler, 21, convinced his mom he was shopping for a new car for himself, calling in help from family members who advised on what kind of vehicle Vanessa would be looking for.
Then, having sourced a 2010 Nissan Altima, Tyler headed to Vanessa’s home on April 9, where his mom went outside to inspect the car she thought was her son’s.
While Vanessa looked around, she was encouraged to sit inside, at which point Tyler asked, “Is the seat comfortable?”
When Vanessa confirmed that, yes, it was, her son then replied, “You better get used to it, because it’s your car.”
As soon as Tyler made the grand reveal, a stunned Vanessa immediately started crying tears of joy, in a moment that family members were able to capture on video.
Vanessa said: “I raised both of my boys alone since they were eight and six years old, so we have a very special and close relationship.
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“Tyler was inspired to do this by watching me struggle to provide for them and always having my needs take a backseat.
“We could never afford a new car, and my vehicles often broke down throughout childhood.
“He when he was 10 years old to one day buy me a car, and I had several cars in between because I could never afford a nice car.
“A lot of the cars we had broke down, making it hard for me to get them to school because even though we moved, I wanted to keep them in the same school district for their whole childhood, so this created a lot of barriers.
I felt overwhelmed with thankfulness, gratitude, love, and appreciation.
“I have never been prouder of both of my boys than that day because I know my other son would’ve done the same thing.
“My hope is that single parents understand that our sacrifices don’t go unnoticed, and even when we feel like we mess everything up for kids, they can turn out amazing if we just teach them to be kind and compassionate.”