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Man's reaction to hearing his stepdaughter call him 'Dad' is an emotional masterpiece

"You just made my day the happiest ever."

Shane and Liana|YouTube

Man hears stepdaughter call him "Dad" for the first time.

Being a parent is often a thankless job, and being a stepparent is usually even more thankless. But most parents show up and do their best to make sure their kids have what they need and feel loved. So when our kids do or say something to show appreciation, it melts our hearts—but nothing melts it faster than a stepchild calling their bonus parent "Mom" or "Dad" for the first time.

A creator named Shane posted a clip from a longer video showing his reaction to hearing his stepdaughter call him "Dad" for the first time. The full video is about three years old, but when it was reposted as a clip recently, it pulled on everyone's heartstrings.

Shane and his wife, Liana, run the social media pages Shane and Liana where they post silly videos pranking each other. But this video wasn't a prank. His stepdaughter, London, wanted to surprise him after wanting to call him "Dad" for a long time.

She can barely contain her excitement in the clip, squealing loudly when climbing into the back seat. When Shane gets in the car, London knows this is her chance.

"Hi Dad, how was your day?" she asks.

Shane turns completely around in shock as the heartwarming realization of what she just called him sets in.

"Did you just call me Dad? Just made my heart melt to know she called me Dad," Shane says full of emotion.

London and Liana explain earlier in the video that Shane has raised the little girl since she was 2 years old. She didn't meet her biological father until she was 5, and he was only in her life briefly before leaving, so this was a big moment. Viewers under the newly re-uploaded clip revealed that watching the interaction made them just as emotional as Shane.

"Idk how the mom ain't crying!?! I'm crying," Mari Morales writes.

"This video hits me right in the heart and soul," Sarah Douglas writes. "My 'step' dad raised me from 7 years old. I’ve never met the sperm donor once, but my REAL dad is the one that chose to love me regardless of biology. Forever grateful for the real men that 'step' up to be there for us."

"So true the first time my oldest daughter called me dad I cried she’s not blood but she is mine no matter what," Timothy Evans says.

This article originally appeared on 7.19.23

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Joy

Little boy asks older skateboarder to hold his hand while he attempts a new trick

The little boy's excitement when he nails the trick is absolutely priceless.

CBS|Facebook

Older skateboarder helps little boy do a trick on a ramp.

Learning a new skill is a little scary, especially if that skill includes becoming airborne for any amount of time. But without pushing the limits of gravity in sports, we wouldn't have greats like Tony Hawk and Chole Kim. Even the extreme sports and Olympic stars had to start from scratch, likely with lots of scratches, bruises and maybe even some broken bones as they learned new tricks.

When you're little and learning new skateboarding tricks, sometimes you just need the bravery of an older kid to help you push through the fear. In a video posted by CBS, a little skateboarder who appeared to be around 9 years old looked to an older skateboarder to hold his hand as he attempted a new trick.

The older boy grabbed the boy's hand and took off running along side the little boy's skateboard, eventually throwing his own skateboard under his feet to keep up.

The entire interaction took less than a minute, but the little boy's excitement at the end when he nailed the trick was absolutely priceless. He landed the flip and rolled right into the older teen's arms, jumping excitedly. It was the kind of kindness parents hope their kids show when they're not looking, and the comment section was filled with people cheering on the skateboarders.

"I love this! He was there for him to the end to make sure he had a smooth landing! What a great video," one person wrote.

"Watching this, this morning, just made my day. Awesome the lil one did it, but even more the older boy helped him get it done. God bless them both," another commenter wrote.

"Omg..that’s way too cute. That hug, speaks volumes. Well done little one, you did it," someone said.

Sometimes you just need a little nudge of encouragement to do the hard thing. So glad this boy had the support of a more experienced skater. These kids are alright.

Watch the wholesome moment below:

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Community

Choir teacher invited 30 years of alumni to join him for one last glorious song

These people stopped what they were doing to send their high school teacher off with a beautiful sound.

Maggie Smith Kühn|TikTok

Retiring choir teacher invites 30 years of past students to sing

Teachers make a lasting impression on their students and that seems to be amplified when you have the same teacher for multiple years. Students that take certain classes like band and choir have more time to spend getting to know their teachers through long rehearsals, competitions and ceremonies. You build a bond with the teachers and classmates which makes goodbyes at graduation hard.

When a teacher retires, there's no coming back to visit your old teacher because you were in town and eventually you just settle for carrying them in your heart. But what happens when they call you back for one last song? You show up. Jim Stanley was retiring after teaching choir for 30 years, and instead of a typical retirement party, he decided to invite all of the alumni from the past three decades to sing one last song together.

Stanley knew his crew because they had one rehearsal together before they were due to perform with him directing the group. This mash-up of old and new alumni sound as if they've always sung together under his directorship.

@watchmaggiepaint

Thank you, Mr. Stanley. When Mr. Stanley retired, he sent out an invite to all his old students, inviting us to come sing and be directed by him for one last day. I blocked it in my calendar and didn't work a wedding, specifically so I could go to my small home town and sing for one last time with all the people I grew up knowing. It was so emotional. So many memories flooded back, we had the strongest choral program of a town our size, all because of Stanley. Many of us became artists and mysicians professionally. Reuniting and seeing the life path of each former student was wild. SHOUTOUT to Lisa for the solo, she is amazing. #mrhollandsopus #choralmusic #teacher #inspiring

Maggie Smith Kühn uploaded the video of the rehearsal on TikTok where it racked up over 2.2 million views.

"When Mr. Stanley retired, he sent out an invite to all his old students, inviting us to come sing and be directed by him for one last day," Kühn wrote in the caption. "It was so emotional. So many memories flooded back, we had the strongest choral program of a town our size, all because of Stanley. Many of us became artists and musicians professionally. Reuniting and seeing the life path of each former student was wild."

The camaraderie and emotions that must've flowed during that rehearsal and subsequent performance had to be immense. There are few things that can top the feeling of perfecting a difficult piece of music when you're a musician. While the night was about Mr. Stanley, everyone involved will likely remember this for the rest of their lives.

Watch the final performance below, the soloist is Lisa Lowe Douglas and she clearly has maintained her vocal abilities. What a beautiful moment to share.

@watchmaggiepaint

Replying to @CoffeyKaffeine Here it is! Lisa Lowe Douglas performing "City Called Heaven" directed by Jim Stanley. #choralmusic #mrhollandsopus #inspiring #lisalowedouglas

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Joy

Two dogs have the sweetest long distance relationship complete with weekly FaceTime calls

These two dogs are relationship goals.

Rollo and Sadie|TikTok

Two dogs have long distance relationship over FaceTime.

When we think about romance and soulmates, we are generally thinking about people, not dogs. But it turns out these two dogs are completely smitten with each other and have the internet calling them "relationship goals." Rollo and Sadie met during the pandemic when their owners moved into apartments in the same building in Canada. According to Sadie's owner, Kayla McTeer, it was love at first sight for the Husky German Shepherd mix.

McTeer told CNN that Sadie didn't really get along well with other dogs, but when she met Rollo, "She whined and cried and laid down on her back like she just met the love of her life."

Well, that's one way to know your dog is in love. Thankfully for Sadie, her beau was also into her, and the relationship we didn't know we needed to see was born.

Sadly for the two lovebirds, Rollo's owner Caitlin Banks had to move for a job that was three hours away from Rollo's girlfriend. If dogs could talk, I'm sure they both would've told their owners that the move was unfair and they'd find a way to be together. But the two did find a way to be together, with the help of their humans. The women set up weekly FaceTime calls so the dogs can have date night chats, and chat they do. Once they spot each other on camera, they whine and howl like they haven't seen each other in years. Well, to them it may seem like years since dogs can't tell time.

Their lovebird shenanigans are amplified when they meet up in person, and their dog romance has taken TikTok by storm with their latest call racking up 23 million views. Hopefully, they won't have to stay apart for too long as their owners revealed that they plan to eventually move back under the same roof.

Check out the sweet love story below:

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