Mom mortified when son tells her what happened at movie theatre—she tracks down woman
Parenting doesn’t come with a manual. Unlike a photocopier or compact sedan, there isn’t a field reference that quickly provides the solution to the multitude of potential problems.
Adolescents are particularly challenging. Caught between childhood and adulthood, the formative years present parents with some of their most difficult decisions.
In 2015, Kyesha Smith Wood was just starting to let her adolescents taste independence. She dropped off her daughter and stepdaughter, both 13 at the time, along with her older teenage son, at a movie theater in Birmingham, Alabama.
They were there to watch the movie Cinderella, but apparently made so much noise in the theater that they became a distraction to the woman sitting in front of them.
Kyesha Smith Wood’s daughter Lexy was a little too loud in the movie theater, drawing the ire of the woman sitting in front of her.
Rebecca Boyd was sitting in front of the teens and was having a hard time hearing the movie. She was there with her daughter, who felt like the movie was being ruined by the rowdy kids behind them.
“They got a little loud, one was tapping my seat,” Boyd told Inside Edition. “I guess after a few minutes I turned around and said, ‘You know girls, we paid for this movie just like you did.'”
Instead of an apology, Boyd was met with more sass and attitude. She approached the girls again after the movie was over to let them know their behavior was unacceptable.
“Girls, I just want you all to know that your actions affect other people around you. This was the last movie that I can take my daughter to for awhile and you’ve ruined that,” Boyd said after the movie.
Boyd told them her husband had recently been laid off and the family wouldn’t be able to afford another movie for a while.
When their mother came to pick them up after the movie, Lexy’s older brother spilled the beans on the incident. Smith Wood was mortified.
The Alabama mother felt like grounding her daughter wasn’t enough. She wanted to make amends with the woman Lexy had upset in the theater.
So she made a post on Facebook— a shot in the dark hoping that the post would reach its intended target.
“This is a long shot,” the post reads before going into the details of that evening. It spread quickly, and after being reposted by the Jefferson County Sheriff Facebook page, reached a remarkable number of people within her own community.
“I live in that community,” Sgt. Jack Self told ABC News. “I just felt like if I could put it for a bigger audience, maybe she could find the lady she was looking for.”
“I am the mom from the movie theatre,” Boyd wrote in the comments section of the post.
Kyesha Smith Wood
This is a long shot, but I'm looking for a woman that was at Tannehill Premier tonight seeing Cinderella at 7pm. I dropped my teenage daughter, step daughter, and son off at the movie. My son later told me, much to my humiliation and embarrassment, that my girls were rude and obnoxious during the movie. The woman I'm looking for addressed them and asked them to be quiet and they were disrespectful. After the movie she approached my girls and told them that her husband had been laid off and this was the last movie she would be able to take her daughter to for a while and my girls ruined that for her. If you are this woman, please message me. I can assure you that these girls are being strongly dealt with and appropriately punished. This rude, disrespectful, and awful behavior is unacceptable and they owe you an apology. My husband and I are having them write your apology letter tonight and we would like to pay for your next movie and snacks out of their allowance. Please message me if this is you. I apologize profusely for their disrespect.
Boyd was very understanding in her comment. Despite what happened at the theater, her response to Smith Wood’s Facebook post was thoughtful and considerate.
“I had taken my daughter to see Cinderella..I was very upset and disappointed in the girls’ behavior…the note from their mom brought me to tears and shows there is still good people in the world,” Boyd said.
“I have no hard feelings towards them and I am proud of their parents. The girls are not not bad…they are children. Glad they are learning a lesson. I hope if my teenagers are out and they act up…I hope someone says something to them.”
The two arranged to meet in person— Smith Wood wanted to make sure Boyd was able to take her daughter to another movie.
Smith Wood wanted to apologize to Boyd in person. She reimbursed the mother for the movie ticket out of her daughter’s allowance.
“She’s the most gracious, kind and forgiving woman,” Smith Wood said to ABC News. “I am so humbled by that.”
Likewise, Boyd had nothing but praise for the way the situation was handled.
“It showed me that there are still good people in the world and they care.”
But the most glowing review the two mothers received for their civility and parenting prowess came from the sheriff’s department. After helping the two mothers connect, they kept everyone in the town abreast of the situation.
“For all who are wondering, the mother with great parenting skills did find the person she was looking for,” the sheriff’s department said in a Facebook post, according to WSMV.
“They have been in touch with one another and all is being set right. Nothing but grace and class on the part of both these ladies.”