When a Texas mom asked her son to take her on a date, she never expected what would happen 12 years later.
Megan Longton (@itsmeganlongton) shared footage from a home video filmed when her son, Emerson, was 4 years old. In the reel posted to Instagram, Megan asks him, “When you’re 16 years old, you’re still going to want to take mommy on a date somewhere? And drive me? And allow me to go with you?” Emerson confidently answers “yes” to all his mom’s questions. “OK, I’m going to hold you to it,” Megan replies.
Fast forward to when Emerson is almost 17, he takes his mom on the date he promised almost 12 years ago.
Megan, who is also mom to Farrah, 13, and Ellis, 8, with husband Brian, told Newsweek that her son never liked the thought of moving out one day.
“I’m a stay-at-home mom and he’s our first born, so he was always with me,” Megan said. “This was him, assuring me that he would want to always be with me, even as a teenager.”
Now that Emerson is older, it means so much more to the mom of three that her eldest would still want to hang out with her one-on-one.
“We go places together all the time, but it’s usually running errands or things like that,” Megan said. “Not just intentional time together like this was.”
On the date, Emerson bought his mom flowers, attended a ceramics painting class and then went to dinner—all paid for by the 17-year-old.
Coming from a broken home, it was important for Megan to build a close relationship with her kids. While first and foremost she is his mom, she’s also his friend.
“[Emerson] tells me everything,” Megan said. “When he comes home in the evening from being with friends, he’ll come lay in our bed and talk to us about his day. We are Christians, and our faith is huge to us. I really believe it’s all just glory to God for being faithful to his word. Raise your children in the way they should go, and they will not depart from it.”
Megan’s reel has been viewed over 802,000 times. Many other boy moms were moved to tears by Emerson’s gesture.
“Look at me crying for a stranger again. My baby will be 5 next month, I don’t think I can handle him growing up,” one user wrote.
“Making all us boy moms cry!!! My oldest is 12 and 5’9 already and it is crazy how fast time flies!” another added.
Megan said the response has been overwhelming and unexpected. “You see him as a 4-year-old and then, all of a sudden, he’s taller than I am and nearly a grown man,” she added. “That’s how it even feels as a parent—it’s relatable and real.”
