It’s spooky season—a time for fun, scares, and a bit of darkness. During this time of year, we expect to see creepy decorations everywhere. It’s not yet time for the cheerful holiday season.
However, just because Halloween is near doesn’t mean we can’t show kindness. One Halloween fan shared this message in a TikTok video that has since gone viral.
Salena Webb loves Halloween. She is a mother of four from South Carolina, and like many others, she celebrates by decorating her yard with Halloween items. Salena created a whole graveyard scene in her front yard, complete with ghosts, spiderwebs, pumpkins, a witch, tombstones, and skeletons carrying a casket. It took a lot of time to set up the display. But when her neighbor came to ask her to take it down, she agreed.
Her neighbor asked her to remove some decorations to make things easier for his elderly father.
Salena shared the moment her neighbor visited her to make the request in a TikTok video. In the video, the neighbor explains, “Hey, I know you’re celebrating Halloween. My dad just got diagnosed with lung cancer. He thinks the decorations are a bit scary.” He then points to the graveyard scene and asks, “Would you mind taking just the casket out?”
Salena felt sympathetic right away. Since her neighbor’s dad often spends time in his garage, which faces her yard, she understood why removing the casket was important. “I didn’t want to be a reminder of what could happen if he doesn’t beat cancer,” she told Insider. “I didn’t want to add stress to someone else’s life.”
Salena removed the casket and gave the skeletons badminton rackets instead. She moved the more scary decorations to her backyard. “I was a little sad at first,” Salena wrote in her TikTok caption, “But I realized that taking away the casket wouldn’t hurt me, but it might help my neighbor feel better as he deals with this news. Kindness is free, and compassion goes a long way.”
Many people praised Salena for her kindness. She posted the video and asked her followers what they would have done in her situation. While some said they wouldn’t have taken down their decorations, many praised Salena for her compassion.
“Now this is what being a good neighbor is all about. Kindness doesn’t cost anything. Thank you!” one user commented.
Another person wrote, “This was beautifully handled. The world needs more people like you! God bless you!”
Salena’s neighbor also appreciated her gesture. After she took down the casket, she brought him a card and some balloons. Even though there was a language barrier between them, she could tell he was thankful. He told her, “You’re good people.”
My Stepdaughter Surprised Me with a Car for My 55th Birthday, Discovering What Was Inside the Glove Box Left Me Speechless
Receiving a car from my stepdaughter, Emily, on my 55th birthday was the last thing I expected, especially given our rocky relationship. She handed me the keys and mentioned there was another surprise in the glove compartment. What I found inside changed everything between us.
Being a stepmom often feels like a balancing act, trying to be a parent without overstepping boundaries. For ten years, I navigated this tightrope with Emily. I met her father, David, at work, and after becoming friends, we started dating. He had lost his wife a year before we met, and his focus was on Emily, his cherished daughter. As our relationship deepened, I wondered about our future together. David expressed his love for me but worried about how Emily would react to a new stepmother.
When I married David, I knew it would be complicated. Emily was only 12 and still grieving her mother. My first meeting with her was tense; she barely spoke and quickly retreated to her room. This set the tone for our relationship. I tried my best to connect, but she remained distant, polite but always keeping me at arm’s length.
I remember putting together a surprise party for her 13th birthday, hoping it would help us bond. Although she smiled at the decorations, she still held back emotionally, creating a barrier between us. Despite the challenges, David and I were happy together. However, everything changed when David died in a car accident five years ago, leaving Emily and me to navigate our grief alone.
In that dark time, I promised to be there for Emily. But even as we became each other’s only family, I sensed that she merely tolerated me. As she grew more independent, starting a career in marketing, our interactions felt more like a formality than a genuine connection. I longed for a warm relationship, but it often felt one-sided.
Last Thanksgiving was particularly hard; Emily barely acknowledged me at a family gathering, deepening my feelings of being an outsider. So, when Emily called just before my birthday to take me out for a special dinner, I felt a flicker of hope. She picked me up in a sleek red convertible, and I thought it might finally be a sign of her acceptance.
When she handed me the keys, her voice felt distant and flat, almost like she was just fulfilling an obligation. I managed to thank her, but the dinner felt awkward and forced. It was hard to shake the feeling that the car was more of a way to alleviate her guilt than a genuine gift.
As we parked, Emily mentioned another surprise in the glove compartment. My heart raced as I opened it, revealing a stack of drawings from her childhood. My breath caught as I saw the stick-figure versions of us, with me labeled as “Mom” and captions like “Mom and Me”.
Tears filled my eyes as the realization hit: Emily had seen me as her mom all along, despite the distance between us. When I expressed my shock, she admitted she loved me but felt guilty calling me “Mom” because of her birth mother.
In that moment, the walls that had stood between us for years crumbled. We embraced tightly, tears streaming down our faces. That evening, we shared everything—our fears, doubts, and cherished moments. Finally, I felt the deep bond of a mother and daughter.
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