Let’s face it, the greatest thing about work is getting a paycheck. But for many families, most of that money goes towards food and bills, and there isn’t much left for items like clothes, toys, and activities.
One Idaho mother is well aware of what it’s like to be on a tight budget.
Malisa Manguso is an amazing single mom of two young boys and she is doing a great job raising them to be kind and happy children. However, the challenge of being able to provide for two growing boys is a tough job.
One day, her son needed new shoes since his old ones were worn down.
“I had the same shoes for about nine months and the bottoms of them were destroyed,” Malisa’s 11-year old son Zach explained to KTVB.
That’s why Malisa and her sons went to a discount store so they could find a good deal. Malisa told Zach that they only had a $20 budget for his school shoes so he needed to be really wise with what he chose.
Most of us have been through this same situation where we need to stick to the allotted budget so that we won’t go over it and still have enough for food and the bills. It’s already considered a skill to be able to find the best deals with the budget that we have.
Little did they know, there was a kind stranger in the store that day.
What Malisa didn’t expect was that there was one man who overheard her conversation with her son. Lito Mason was also there to shop for shoes and he overheard this mom talking to her son about being a wise spender and that they only had $20 to spend.
“She was working with a budget and I get that, we all get that at this time of the year, back to school. I asked him, ‘so what type of shoes do you like?’ He said ‘I just want something that’s comfortable.’ I was done! At that point, I said I’m going to get him whatever he wants,” Lito shares in his interview.
To have someone come up to you and offer to buy your son good shoes is just amazing! Anyone who is in Malisa’s situation would also feel grateful beyond words.
“He just out of the blue looked at me and said, ‘I tell you what, that kid has to have good shoes on his feet and has to be looking good to go to junior high. You just pick out the shoes, and don’t worry about the price,’” a teary-eyed Malisa shared to KTVB. “For the first time in a long time, I saw Zachary light up, and be so happy.”
According to the mom, her son said the stranger was “like an angel.”
The shoe hero
Malisa wanted to remember this beautiful moment so she asked Lito if she could take a photo. She posted her wonderful experience on Facebook where it touched other people’s hearts too.
Someone recognized the man in the photo and tagged him in the post. Lito Mason was overwhelmed when he saw just how many people were touched by his beautiful gesture of kindness.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be such a big deal,” he said. “To see me plastered all over the internet? I’m really a shy guy. It’s just something I wanted to do,” he said, smiling as he remembered how many messages he received after the viral post.
“For one time in his life, I didn’t want him to worry about a price, and it was simple as that.”
Although Lito felt like what he did wasn’t a very big deal, his act of kindness won’t be forgotten by the young man and his mom. Surely Zach wore those shoes proudly to school!
Check out the video below to see more on this heartwarming story!
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