It can be hard when your child leaves home for the first time. The empty nest is real. And it goes both ways. One mom made sure her son didn't miss out when he went abroad to study.
Tennessee native Dalton Ross felt guilty when he moved to London, so he mailed a cardboard cutout of himself to keep his mom company.
“I was settling in and wasn’t talking to my mom as much,” Ross said. “So, I thought it would be funny if she got an unexpected package that was a life-size version of me.”
I wish I had thought of this prank when I went abroad at the same age. There were no iPhones then, no Facetime or Skype. I had to rely on snail mail and random smelly phone boxes. As an only child, I missed home badly. Keeping in touch wasn't easy.
But this mom Susan Talley clearly has a wicked sense of humour.
Dalton was never lonely. Neither was she. She made sure her flat son went everywhere she went - from basketball games to the dentist's office.
He's good for another 6 months!
Posted by Susan Schmittou Talley on Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Much like the travelling garden gnomes, Cardboard Dalton got around. In fact, he even had a special date on Valentine's.
Instead of sending the photos straight to Ross himself, she posted images of her facsimile son to her Facebook page. Touche, mom. Touche.
As the 22-year-old put it: “My mom is funny and out-joked me on this one.”
And in the process she has given her son new inspiration. He plans to send Cardboard Dalton in his place to morning lectures so the real Dalton can sleep in. Touch of the Ferris Bueller.
Image Source: Facebook
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