When a 7-year-old boy noticed an elderly lady eating lunch alone at a restaurant, he chose to sit with her and brighten her day.
On June 7, Crystal Tamez and Ezra—one of her four children—were eating lunch at Braum’s, a burger joint in Rockwall, Texas, when Ezra spotted an elderly woman sitting alone behind his mom.
Packing up his food, Ezra said, “Mom, we have to go sit with her.”
A nervous Mrs. Tamez hesitated at first but seeing how determined her son was, she didn’t want to deny his request and agreed.
After politely asking the 84-year-old woman if they could sit with her, Mrs. Tamez learned that the elder was battling depression in the wake of her husband’s passing a few months ago.
“She was having a hard time getting out of the house, and so she really appreciated [Ezra] noticing her and coming over,” Mrs. Tamez told the Epoch Times.
In a conversation that lasted for about 30 minutes, Ezra spoke to her about his interest in football.
“He told her that he loved football, and he was a quarterback,” Mrs. Tamez said, adding that the elderly woman went on to ask him questions about his siblings.
When Mrs. Tamez got up for a refill, she noticed just how sweet and precious the moment was and thus decided to capture it on video.
As the mother-son duo left the restaurant, the octogenarian, who the family refers to as Ms. Pat, thanked Ezra for brightening her day.
Later, Ezra told his mom: “It’s just not right, Mom.”
“What?” Mrs. Tamez asked.
“Nobody should be doing life alone,” Ezra said. “It’s just not okay for her to sit alone.”
Mrs. Tamez was touched by his response. Describing her son as “very kind, sweet, and generous,” Mrs. Tamez said he is the type of child who wants to help others at every opportunity.
However, Ezra isn’t her only child who has shown great compassion. Mrs. Tamez recalled that one of Ezra’s siblings would always play with special-needs kids at school rather than go to recess. Another child, Arrow, forged an unlikely friendship with his bus driver before she began attending church with him.
“It’s just kind of who they are,” Mrs. Tamez said of her children.
‘I 100 Percent Think That God Had Us in That Space, at That Time’
Ms. Pat, who currently resides in a senior home in Rockwall, Texas, lost her first husband when she was young. After staying single for some time, she met her last husband nine years ago. Sadly, for eight of the years they spent together, he was battling brain cancer. Despite that, the elderly couple made the most of their time together, doing a lot of traveling.Since her husband’s passing, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to Braum’s, a restaurant she and her late husband often visited together, until the day she first met Ezra and his mother.
“I 100 percent think that God had us in that space, at that time,” said Mrs. Tamez, adding that she believes God used Ezra to comfort the widow and show her she wasn’t alone.
“He works in ways where he puts other people, like Ezra—the little angel in disguise—just [as] a reminder she’s not forgotten,” the proud mom said.
Since their first meeting, Mrs. Tamez has stayed in touch with Ms. Pat and even invited her to Ezra’s football game.
Mrs. Tamez and her husband, Eli, are self-employed and have been married for the last 20 years. Their parenting philosophy focusses on human connection and faith. They don’t allow their children—aged 5 to 14—to use iPads, instead encouraging them to talk to people in the real world.
By sharing this heartwarming story, Mrs. Tamez hopes to highlight the importance of encouraging children to forge strong human connections by getting off screens and into the real world.
