Single Mom Dresses Up as Dad to Attend Son's Donuts With Dad School Event
This mom said she would do "whatever it takes to put a smile" on her son's face.
— -- A single mother from Fort Worth, Texas, has become a social media sensation after recently dressing up as a dad so that her 12-year-old son wouldn't have to "miss out" on a Donuts With Dad social event at his school.
Yevette Vasquez told ABC News today she was dropping off her sixth-grade son, Elijah, last Thursday, Sept. 1, when she noticed "more cars in the parking lot than usual."
"I asked him, 'What's going on? Is there some event that I'm supposed to be here for'? and he tells me, 'No, don't worry. It's just Donuts With Dad.'" Vasquez said. "I told him, 'How come you didn't tell me?' and joked I could've dressed up as a man for him."
To her surprise, Elijah immediately perked up at the idea, she said.
"He was like, 'Well, Mom, we got 10 minutes before the bell rings!'" Vasquez said. "When I saw how excited he was about it, I decided to follow through."
In less than 10 minutes, the Texas mother said she drove back home, changed into a plaid button-down shirt, slapped on a fake mustache, put on a baseball cap and then made it back to the school.
"When we walked into the library, there were a whole bunch of men, and a lot of them were cheering," Vasquez said. "Elijah was just smiling really big. It was a lot of fun, and of course, we got doughnuts."
After the event, the 12-year-old asked Vasquez if she could share the funny photos they took on Facebook.
The photos have since gone viral and have been shared more than 16,000 times on Facebook as of this afternoon.
"I know seeing other dads with [their] kids isn't easy for mine but [it's] life," Vasquez wrote in the caption to the photos. "[A]t least I can do whatever it takes to put a smile on that face."
Vasquez said she wants her children and other children of single parents "to know that they are whole, complete and limitless even without the other parent there."
"My three boys are my loves, and I hope I can raise them to be amazing men, fathers and husbands, even without a father figure example for them," she said.
Vasquez also defended the school. "I know some people are saying that they shouldn’t have a specific Donuts With Dad day because kids without parents feel left out, and I do get that," she said. "But I feel they don't have to take the day away. I think it's nice the school celebrates fathers who are there for their children, and they also have a day with moms, Muffins With Mom."
Vasquez added that dressing up as a dad was meant to be "something silly and fun" to make her son "smile and laugh."
The mother said that she plans on "definitely being there" for Elijah during the school's upcoming Muffins With Moms event.
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