Every mom knows what it feels like to have one of your kids come to you, late on a school night, with a school project they “just remembered.” Gabriela Palacios captured the moment her 7-year-old son, Leo, announced to her that he needed to build a diorama on Komodo dragons…at 9:30 p.m. the night before. It’s now viral on TikTok because of how hilariously relatable it is.
In the video, Leo can be seen whispering to his mom (because she’s laying in bed with his little sister, who’s already asleep).
“I just remembered about something I’m supposed to do tomorrow,” Leo says. He goes on to explain about the Komodo dragon project, how he researched it at school, but forgot to do the at-home portion, which is build his diorama to present to his class.
“The paper is in my backpack and my backpack is in the car, I think,” he says. “But at least I know I have to do it and I have to turn it in tomorrow.”
Palacios, bless her, responds, “It’s due tomorrow? You want me to do this tonight?”
Poor Leo clearly feels terrible as he tells her, “Well, I don’t think so, but do you think… I think it’s required. I forgot. I’m so sorry.”
And you can tell he means it. Palacios clearly can too, because she responds, “It’s OK, baby. OK, let’s look at it.”
Leo’s next line, however, is perfection: “If you want you can take a little rest… or do it now.”
Thanks, buddy.
Palacios told Today that right after the video, she packed up Leo and his three siblings to go to Family Dollar for supplies for the project.
“We got there right before it closed at 10,” she said.
After they got home, Palacios, a single mom, put Leo’s younger siblings back to bed, then helped him complete his diorama.
“I’m in my son’s corner,” she said. “We’ve all been there where we’ve forgotten about something until the last minute and needed somebody to bail us out.”
In the comments, so many people praised her understanding.
“The way he’s never going to be afraid to ask momma for help,” one commenter wrote.
Another added, “Thank God he doesn’t have the parents we had, I’m so happy that you said ‘it’s OK, baby’ that healed a little part of me.”
Palacios said Leo gave his presentation in class the next day.