Life can be unpredictable. The truth is that we can never know what tomorrow brings and that is why we should never lose hope that things could turn for the better even if we believe that there is no way out.
The story of an 8-year-old boy named Aaron Moreno who had high hopes and dreams teaches us exactly that.
It turned out that this bright boy loved having Cheetos and ice-cream, two of his favorite snacks, but his mother had a hard time providing for the family. Being on her own, with children and jobless, she could hardly afford to buy her children ice-cream, so whenever the ice-cream truck would stop by the shed in which they lived, her heart broke into million pieces.
“When I lost both my jobs in March because of the corona-virus pandemic and we had no option but to live in a shed, this kid was always asking for Hot Cheetos,” Aaron’s mom, Berenice Pacheco, told CNN. “It’s just $3, but when you have kids and you don’t have a job, it can make all the difference.”
Seeing his mom struggle, Aaron decided to do all in his power to help her. He also wanted his family to move out of the shed which didn’t have any bedrooms, bathrooms, or air-conditioning.
Using his mom’s last $12, Aaron decided to buy succulents and resell them.
“Our shed was hot and crowded and I wasn’t happy,” Aaron shared with CNN. “I started my garden so my mom won’t be stressed because I don’t like seeing her struggle.”
On the first day, Aaron managed to sell everything. He made little profit and decided to invest it in more succulents thus try to start a business. Both he and his mom would take a bus to the flower district to buy the supplies they needed for the day. Most times, they were selling from their shed, but occasionally, they would create pop-up shops.
Being proud of her son’s hard work, Berenice shared photos of him and his garden on Facebook. The photos gathered the attention of many and a friend decided to start a GoFundMe page in order to help the family.
The initial goal was to raise $1,000. Believe it or not, they ended up raising around $56,000, enough for a new place.
With the money, they were also able to bring Aaron’s sister home from Mexico.
“The best part of what Aaron has done for us is bringing back his sister,” Berenice said. “It was so hard being without her and we are a whole family again. And I was so happy to see they still had their amazing bond even if they spent so much time apart. It’s such a blessing.”
The succulents business is growing bigger and bigger all thanks to Aaron’s hard work and determination to improve his family’s life. He is now selling more types of flowers. What a thoughtful young man he is.