His mom raised him alone after dad abandoned them. Years later he saw a sad waitress and just knew what to do next.

Being a single parent comes with challenges that often go unseen. The late nights, the constant worries, and the relentless effort to provide can take a toll. Sean Whalen grew up watching his mother work tirelessly to support him and his brother after their father abandoned them. He never truly understood the sacrifices she made until he became a parent himself. Years later, a simple dinner with his son brought back all those memories. Whalen shared the experience on Facebook, reflecting on the strength of single mothers and the struggles they face.

He recalled the night he and his father got into a fight, and he, his brother and mother stayed at a hotel. When they came back, his father changed the locks on their home, forcing his mother to plead through the door just to grab their belongings. When the police finally let them in, he was given a trash bag and ten minutes to take what he could carry. Left with nothing, his mother worked multiple jobs to get by. Whalen wrote, "She did everything she could so that my brother and I had everything we ever wanted. She worked, man. Hard. I still to this day don't know how she did it." Whalen remembers passing by her room at night, seeing her on her knees in prayer, holding onto hope even when things seemed impossible.

One night at dinner, he saw the same kind of strength in a waitress at a small Chinese restaurant. She was the only non-Chinese worker there, balancing water refills and small talk with a smile. "It tore my heart out. I thought of my mom, and I saw the same hustle in this woman that I saw in my mom," he wrote. Before leaving, he handed her a $100 tip. He wrote, "I know my tip won’t pay her rent. I know my tip won’t keep the fridge full. But I hoped tonight in some way it might put a smile on her face, and she can go home to her babies happier than when she left them." 

He thought about his own mother and wondered if, at some point, a stranger had done something similar for her. He said, "I’ll likely never know. But I do know this—my mother paved the way for my persistence. She showed me how to bounce back. She showed me what work and effort is." Whalen ended his post with a tribute to the women who do whatever it takes for their children. He wrote, "Single moms who grind…RESPECT. You are beautiful, and your posterity will learn from your efforts. They are watching you, just as I watched my mom."

Many people resonated with his words, expressing their thoughts in the comments. Doris Byers wrote, "It's very hard being a single parent. No one understands unless you've been there. Thank you for this beautiful story." Lisa Livoli-Doucet added, "You can tell your mom is a great woman. She raised a perfect, kindhearted gentleman." Tony Litster shared, "A tip like that changed my life waiting tables 18 years ago. Bravo, brother." Stephen Worgan commented, "Powerful post. Couldn’t imagine what that must have been like to go through. Thanks for sharing, Sean and God bless you and your family." Angel Hall said, "We single moms everywhere thank you and especially your mother for showing other single moms like me that we can do it."