Most people didn\u2019t even know Derek Ryder had a mother.<\/p>\n
When his friends talked about their parents, Derek always stayed quiet. He never invited anyone over to play video games or watch a movie. Not once, from the time he started school until the end of high school, did a single friend step foot inside his house.<\/p>\n
And whenever he started dating a girl, he\u2019d always make excuses. \u201cLook, babe,\u201d he\u2019d say, \u201cmy mom\u2019s super religious. She won\u2019t even let me date.\u201d That wasn\u2019t true\u2014but it was easier than the truth.<\/p>\n
The real reason? Derek was ashamed of his mother.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t want anyone to see her. To him, she looked like something out of a horror movie. Gail Ryder, his mom, only had one eye, and the left side of her face was covered in deep scars.<\/p>\n
She had looked like that for as long as Derek could remember. When he was little, it didn\u2019t matter\u2014she was just his mom. But as he grew older, he started to notice how people reacted. Some stared. Some turned away.<\/p>\n
Derek began to feel embarrassed. His mom wasn\u2019t like other moms. She was ugly.<\/p>\n
He remembered the very first day of school. His mom had worn huge sunglasses and a floppy hat to hide her scars. But even so, he saw other moms whispering and giving her odd looks.<\/p>\n
That night, he yelled at her.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want you to walk me to the gate!\u201d he told her. \u201cI can go by myself!\u201d<\/p>\n
Gail was surprised. \u201cBut honey,\u201d she said gently, \u201call the other moms take their kids to class. You\u2019re still small!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a freak!\u201d Derek shouted. \u201cI heard Bobby\u2019s mom say it! Now everyone\u2019s gonna think I\u2019m a freak too!\u201d<\/p>\n
From that day on, Gail never walked him to school again. She dropped him off at the corner and drove away, tears running down her face. Her son was ashamed of her\u2014and it broke her heart.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Derek lived his life pretending. He told people his mom was sick, or super religious, or just \u201cdidn\u2019t like people.\u201d Anything to keep her hidden.<\/p>\n
Then came graduation.<\/p>\n
Derek had done well. He was named valedictorian, and the principal patted him on the back. \u201cYou did great, son,\u201d the man said. \u201cI hope we finally get to meet your mother\u2014I\u2019d like to congratulate her in person!\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek panicked.<\/p>\n
His mom? At graduation? No way! Everyone would see her!<\/p>\n
That night, Derek made a decision. He went online and found an agency that hired out actors. He picked a woman who looked just like the mother he wished he had\u2014pretty, kind, and unscarred.<\/p>\n
He trained the actress carefully\u2014told her how to talk, what to wear, how to act. She was going to pretend to be his mom at graduation. Everything was set.<\/p>\n
The morning of the ceremony, Gail saw Derek putting on his graduation robe.<\/p>\n
She gasped. \u201cDerek! Is it today? Oh, let me get dressed! I\u2019ll be quick!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDressed?\u201d Derek asked, coldly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor your graduation, of course,\u201d she said, smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going,\u201d he said flatly.<\/p>\n
Gail blinked, confused. \u201cBut\u2026 why?\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek exploded. \u201cI\u2019ve spent my whole life hiding you. You think I want you there now, showing your ugly face on the most important day of my life?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her one eye filled with tears. \u201cDerek,\u201d she whispered, \u201chow can you be so cruel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFace it, mom!\u201d he screamed. \u201cYou\u2019re a freak, okay? I\u2019ve been ashamed of you since I was a kid. I\u2019ve hired someone else to pretend to be you. Do you get it now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gail went pale. She looked like she couldn\u2019t breathe. \u201cOh, my son,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
But Derek had already turned his back and walked out the door.<\/p>\n
Two weeks later, he left for college in California and never spoke to her again.<\/p>\n
Ten years passed.<\/p>\n
Then one day, Derek got a phone call. His mother had passed away. Her friends had arranged the funeral.<\/p>\n
She had left everything to Derek\u2014her house, and a large amount of money.<\/p>\n
A lawyer named Terry Arlington met him. \u201cYour mother left you the house, and nearly $700,000,\u201d he said. \u201cThe house alone is worth over $1.5 million.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cBut\u2026 how? She lived so simply. My father left her and gave her nothing. I don\u2019t understand\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Arlington gave him a sad smile. \u201cIt was the insurance money. And the compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCompensation?\u201d Derek asked. \u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawyer sighed. \u201cMr. Ryder, when you were three years old, you ran toward a strange dog in the park. Your mother saw what was happening and threw herself between you and the animal. She saved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was badly mauled,\u201d Arlington continued. \u201cShe lost her eye and was left with permanent scars. She could have died. But she protected you without hesitation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2026 it would\u2019ve been me\u2026\u201d he whispered, tears falling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always thought your mother was one of the bravest, most selfless people I\u2019ve ever met,\u201d said Arlington softly. \u201cYou must have been very proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Derek said nothing.<\/p>\n
He walked out of the office with the lawyer\u2019s words echoing in his mind.<\/p>\n
He drove straight to the cemetery, found his mother\u2019s grave, and knelt beside it.<\/p>\n
Tears poured down his cheeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh mom,\u201d he whispered. \u201cYou saved me\u2026 and I treated you like nothing. I was cruel. I was ashamed of the woman who gave everything for me. Please\u2026 forgive me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
From that day on, Derek changed.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t hide his mother\u2019s memory anymore. He found one of the few photos he had of her\u2014big sunglasses on, trying to hide her scars\u2014and placed it on his desk.<\/p>\n
And every time he looked at it, he remembered her love\u2026 her sacrifice\u2026 and how selfish he had been.<\/p>\n
What can we learn from this story?<\/p>\n
Be proud of your parents, no matter what they look like or how different they seem. Derek was selfish and full of shame\u2014and it cost him years with the one person who loved him the most.<\/p>\n
Remorse is a heavy weight to carry. When Derek learned the truth about his mother\u2019s scars, he never forgave himself for the way he treated her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most people didn\u2019t even know Derek Ryder had a mother. When his friends talked about their parents, Derek always stayed quiet. He never invited anyone over to play video games or watch a movie. Not once, from the time he started school until the end of high school, did a single friend step foot inside […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29759"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29760,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29759\/revisions\/29760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}