A collage of Dalton Ross .
He sent his mom a life-size cutout of himself.
The life-size cutout of Dalton Ross.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
"I thought maybe they'd put it in the living room corner until I got back to remember I exist," he explained about the cutout, which came with a short note: "You're welcome.”
But like any clever mom, Susan Talley couldn't just stash this amazing piece of work away when it arrived about two months ago.
Guess who’s coming to dinner.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
No, no — she had better plans in mind.
Talley decided the cardboard version of her son could be a great companion "while the real one is in Europe." So she brought him along with her to events, like basketball games ...
Can you spot cardboard Dalton in the stands?
Defense! Defense!
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
... trips to the doctor's office ...
Hello doc.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
... and sub sandwich runs.
One meatball sub please.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
Fake Dalton celebrated Valentine's Day with a fellow inanimate object.
The strange and uncomfortable.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
He enjoyed playing with a furry, four-legged friend in the sunshine.
Some complicated fetching.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
And he appreciated a good bedtime story, just like the rest of us.
Reading Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!"
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
The photos of fake Dalton are spreading like wildfire.
Out and about for lunch.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
Without showing her son the photos first, Talley went ahead and uploaded them to Facebook. And after Dalton shared them on Imgur — explaining his mom "seems to be entertaining herself" while he's gone — the story sent the Internet into a buzzy frenzy.
"The attention is crazy," Ross told Upworthy, noting the story has gained so much traction that a restaurant featured in one of the photos, O'Charley's, sent the family a gift card.
"I hope my mom's holding up all right," he said. "It's awesome though.”
Fake Dalton has been hitting the batting cages...
Batter up.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
... taking in some nightlife...
Out on the town.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
... and celebrated Easter with his family.
Easter with the Ross family.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
Although the viral reaction to the photos has been a bit nuts, Ross isn't all that surprised his mom was up for a good laugh.
Out and about.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
"Oh yeah, my mom is very funny," he explained to Upworthy. And it's a good thing, too: Laughter can be a great tool in improving the quality of family dynamics and boosting a loved one's emotional health. (A student studying abroad should especially keep that in mind, considering being away from loved ones and familiarity can be tough.)
"We're a big family of jokesters."
Bravo, mom, for setting the bar very high ahead of April Fools' Day.
Let’s clean it up.
All photos courtesy of Dalton Ross, used with permission.
This article originally appeared on 03.30.16
I love that in the seriousness of spelling bees, he was able to be himself. This made me smile!" wrote one person.
Lara B. Sharp