In 2019, a Florida mother went viral on Facebook after sharing what she called a ‘long mom rant post’ that detailed a moment when she had to teach her then-6-year-old daughter (now 10 years old) a valuable lesson about gratitude and appreciation – a lesson all children must learn at some point in their lifetime.
Wanting to surprise her daughter with a pencil case – the L.O.L. Surprise! Pencil Box, to be exact – that she had been asking for, Haley Hassell went to three different stores before finding the one she wanted. Hassell was certain her daughter would be ecstatic at the unconditional gift, but things didn’t go that way.
“When I surprised her with it this afternoon (just knowing she would be ecstatic) she stared at it and threw it in the trash and slammed the bedroom door. She yelled ‘that’s stupid, everyone in my class has that.. I don’t want it anymore!’” she wrote in her Facebook post – sharing a photo of the pencil case in the trash.
At this point, Haley Hassell had smoke coming from her ears – after all, she works very hard to ensure her daughter has everything she could possibly need and has always taught her daughter to be grateful for the things she has. Haley’s initial reaction was to yell at and punish her daughter for being ungrateful.
Nonetheless, the then-25-year-old mother decided to keep her cool and not ‘lose it’ on her daughter. Instead, she taught her a lesson. “Apparently sis needed a small wake up call So before completely going Madea mad on my child I check myself,” she wrote in her post – which was shared by 71,000 people.
Haley decided to take the pencil case out of the trash, but didn’t give it back to her daughter. Instead, she grabbed a Ziploc bag from the kitchen and wrote ‘Pencil Case’ in Sharpie. Petty? Maybe, but it certainly did the trick as her daughter immediately realized how good she had it with the L.O.L. Pencil Box.
Unfortunately for her daughter, it was too late – she wasn’t getting the pencil box back. In fact, she was forced to use the Ziploc bag as her pencil case and her mother was serious about it. “I explained to her she’s not entitled to anything special and she is taking for granted how lucky she is,” Hassell wrote.
What Did the Mother Do With the LOL Pencil Box?
While most parents would’ve given the pencil box back to the daughter after she realized how good she had it, Haley Hassell decided that wasn’t the best route to take. Aside from making her daughter use the Ziploc bag, she made her daughter physically deliver the LOL pencil box to a child who would be grateful.
“I told her to get the LOL out of the trash and we would be finding a child to give it to tomorrow..one whose mommy and daddies don’t have money for any school supplies or someone who may not even have a mommy or daddy,” she said. Safe to say her daughter learned a valuable lesson four years ago.
But it wasn’t just a life lesson for her daughter – it was a life lesson for everyone. She saw it as an opportunity for everyone to take a second to change their perspective from time to time. Being grateful for what’s right in front of you can change someone’s life – no matter how old you are or what you have.
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“Maybe I over react sometimes but I would’ve done anything to have all the things she does as a child. I truly believe Changing your perception & just being grateful can turn around any situation in life,” she concluded in her post – adding the hashtag #UngratefulnessDONTflyOverHere.