A son begins to wonder if his mom is living a double life after discovering that she sneaks out of the house when everyone is asleep. One night he follows her out of the house and finds out the real reason – it’s not what he expected.

When Chester welcomed his second son with his wife, Amanda, he invited his mother, Gretchen, to move in with them to help with the children. Working full-time, he knew his wife would not be able to raise a two-year-old and a newborn alone.

“Would you like to help us raise your grandchildren, Mom?” Chester asked Gretchen when she visited her in the hospital after the birth. “Amanda and I could really use the help.”

Gretchen, who lives alone and sees her only son Chester once a month, couldn’t be happier to agree. As she hugged her son, she said:

“Oh I would love to spend more time with my grandkids. I would absolutely love that! You guys are my life!”

Shortly after Amanda and her newborn son, Chase, were released from the hospital, Gretchen packed up and moved in with them. Life with Gretchen was simple and unfussy. She wasn’t the typical mother-in-law you see in the movies as she really enjoyed taking care of her grandchildren.

Amanda relied heavily on her mother-in-law. Gretchen looked after the baby when Amanda slept, and in between, Gretchen made sure her older grandson, Timothy, never felt alone or abandoned around the house with the new baby.

By the time Chase slept through the night, that all changed. Gretchen started disappearing in the evenings, saying she had dinner planned with her friends. Another time, she said she had an appointment at the mall at her favorite nail salon.

At first it didn’t bother Amanda and Chester until those evenings away from the house became more frequent. “She lives here so she can take care of her grandkids. If she’s gone every night, maybe she should move back into her own house,” Amanda said one night, annoyed that she was taking care of her crying newborn and her whining baby toddler had to take care of.

“Grandma!” little Timothy kept crying one night. “I just want grandma!”

“What does she do outside every night?” said Amanda and had enough. “Can you please talk to your mom?” she asked her husband.

Chester promised to get to the bottom of why his mother went out every night. She was nowhere to be found the night he went to confront her.

The next day Chester asked her where she had gone. “Is something wrong mom? Why are you always out at night? Yesterday I checked on you at midnight and you weren’t in your room,” he told her. “Where do you always go?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Gretchen apologized. “I’ve been feeling pretty lonely… I guess that comes with age. I have trouble sleeping so I always try to do something at night so I can fall asleep tired. Last night I just couldn’t sleep, so I decided to go for a walk,” she explained.

Chester immediately felt bad for his mom when he heard that, but out of the corner of his eye he saw his wife shake her head. At first she thought Amanda was just being disrespectful, so he decided to confront her.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you feel sorry for Mom?” he asked her.

Amanda shook her head again. “She’s lying, Chester,” she said to her husband.

“How can you accuse her of lying?” argued Chester. “What’s in it for her anyway?”

“I don’t know, Chester. She probably doesn’t want us to know what she does at night. Someone used my favorite perfume last night. I know because the cap was taken off. Someone also changed my makeup after he used it. Tell me it wasn’t you and neither was Timothy. Who else could it have been?” she asked her husband.

She wore a black dress, a pair of wedge heels and blow-dried her hair. “Do you understand what I mean?” said Amanda to her husband.

When Chester heard this, he began to believe his wife – maybe his mum had lied to him after all. It was out of character for her to go out every night, especially when she was in the company of her grandchildren. Something was going on.

That same night, Chester decided that if he caught her sneaking out of the house at night again, he would follow his mom. When they finished putting Chase and Timothy to bed, they pretended to go to bed.

After a few minutes, Chester heard his mum’s door creaking open. “I told you, Chester, she’s sneaking out of the house again!” whispered Amanda.

Chester and Amanda watched Gretchen through the window as she left the front door. She wore a black dress, a pair of wedge heels and blow-dried her hair. “See what I mean?” said Amanda to her husband. “She’s so dressed up… definitely not for a midnight stroll!”

Does mom lead a double life? What is she doing so late at night when she’s all dressed up? thought Chester.





Before he could think of anything else, an older man opened the door and smiled at Gretchen. “I’ve been waiting for you all night!” he told her.

When he saw Gretchen walking away, Chester followed her a few yards. They walked a few more blocks until they finally stopped in front of an unfamiliar house. “What is she doing there?” said Chester to himself.

Gretchen knocked on the door while Chester hid behind a tree. He didn’t know what to expect on his midnight date with his mom, and it made him nervous.

Before he could think of anything else, an older man opened the door and smiled at Gretchen. “I’ve been waiting for you all night!” he told her.

That can not be! She can’t be a companion! Chester thought, panicking. He ran to the door, startling both Gretchen and the older man.

“Mom! Stop! What’s the matter with you? Why are you doing this?” he asked, trying to pull her out of the man’s grasp.

Gretchen’s eyes widened at the sight of her son. “Honey, what are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.

“Amanda and I were already worried about why you were out every night. So I decided to follow you. Who is this man? Is he making you do something? Are you in trouble?” he asked his mom who was still trying to pull her away from the man.

“Honey,” Gretchen said again. “This is my boyfriend, Gregory. We’ve been together for about a year,” she said, holding the man’s hand.

“What? A friend? Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” Chester asked in astonishment.

Gretchen looked at her son nervously and said:

“I was afraid you would judge me, son. I’m 56 years old – I’m a grandma! You kept asking me why I go out every night, so I was ashamed to tell you the truth. You You might think I’m too old for these ‘games’.”

Chester felt terrible because his mom didn’t feel safe enough to tell him the truth. He figured it had something to do with how he and his wife, Amanda, treated Gretchen, so he decided to make a change.

“You’re never too old for love Mom. I’m so sorry you felt the need to hide this from me. We should be your number one supporters. After all, we just want you to be happy!”, said he her.

“I hope you don’t feel like I’m not happy living with you, Amanda and my two grandchildren. I love you all with all my heart. It’s just that you guys have each other and I at the end of the alone during the day. I hope you understand. Gregory here makes me very happy,” she began to tell her son.

Chester nodded, assuring her that he understood. He introduced himself to Gregory and the three shared a cup of hot chocolate so Chester and Gregory could get to know each other better.

The next day, Chester invited Gregory to his home. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw how happy Gretchen was that Gregory got to meet the rest of the family. “I’m so glad to be here,” Gregory said upon meeting Amanda and their two children. The next day Chester invited Gregory to his house. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw how happy Gretchen was that Gregory got to meet the rest of the family. “I’m so glad to be here,” Gregory said upon meeting Amanda and their two children.

“Mom, you should have told us you have a boyfriend. I’m so happy for you!” said Amanda to her. “How did you meet?””Mom, you should have told us you have a boyfriend. I’m so happy for you!” said Amanda to her. “How did you meet?”

Gretchen and Gregory gave each other a loving look before telling their story. “We met in the supermarket,” Gregory began. “I was so impressed by this beautiful woman who was picking out candy! So I was like, ‘Oh, she probably has a family. Why else would she be picking out candy?’”

Gretchen laughed and continued the rest of the story. “Yes, and then I caught this man staring at me and I decided to ask him if there was anything I could help him with. He couldn’t help but tell the truth! Tell them what you said “Gregory,” said Gretchen.

“I told her, ‘I’m sorry, I was just mesmerized by your beauty.’” Gregory continued. “Gretchen’s face immediately turned red and I knew right away that she was single!”

Chester and Amanda looked at each other and smiled. You could see how in love Gretchen and Gregory were with each other and they couldn’t be happier for their mom.

Since that day, Gretchen hasn’t had to hide anything from her family. She went out with Gregory calmly, which motivated her to spend more time with her grandchildren without Chester or Amanda asking.

Gretchen lived her life to the fullest, and she enjoyed every aspect of it. Soon Gregory proposed to Gretchen and they were married in a simple civil ceremony. Amanda and Chester hosted the wedding reception at their home, and it was everything Gretchen could dream of.

“I have everything I need,” she said as she offered a toast during the wedding dinner. “I have a loving husband, a caring son and daughter, and the most beautiful grandchildren. I am truly blessed.”

What can we learn from this story?

It’s never too late to find true love. At 56, Gretchen didn’t think she would ever find love again until she met Gregory at the grocery store. He made her believe in love again and they eventually lived happily together for the rest of their lives.





Self-care and time for yourself are important. At first, Chester and Amanda condemned Gretchen for always being out of the house, not realizing that she was doing it for her own happiness. Eventually they realized that taking care of her grandchildren wasn’t Gretchen’s only job – she had other things to do and other people to love too!

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