Single Mom's 'Old Man Neighbor' Comes Over To Check On Her Often Ever Since Her Own Dad Passed
People were deeply touched by her neighbor's care and concern, and some even think he might be a guardian angel.
@amandakayex / TikTok Neighbors can often make or break a living situation. But in one single mom's case, her neighbor is actually making a difference, and it's hitting millions of people online right in the heartstrings.
A single mom documented how her 'old man' neighbor checks in on her regularly ever since her own father passed away.
TikToker, nurse and single mom Amanda Kaye, known as @amandakayex on the app, recently posted a video captured by her doorbell camera showing how her neighbor keeps tabs on her, and it's been melting hearts all over the internet.
"Hey, this is Greg, your next-door neighbor," the elderly neighbor says in the video. "This morning I saw you for the first time in a bit, I was just checking to see if everything is okay, if you're all right."
Greg was extra concerned about Amanda and her kids given the massive heat wave gripping most of the country at the moment. "I figure with all the heat and everything else," he said, "I'd give a little wellness check, so I was just checking to see if you're okay."
Kaye explained that her "sweet old man" neighbor has become something of a substitute dad since her own father passed, and said he "looks out for [me] at all times" over the five years they've been neighors.
Kaye said her nice old man neighbor's care and concern has helped her mental health during a difficult time.
"The world needs more Gregs," wrote one of the more than three million viewers Kaye's video attracted. Given how many of us have awful neighbors, it's hard to disagree. And in a follow-up video, Kaye said she feels super lucky to have Greg nearby.
"He is so special to me, he means so much to me," Kaye said. "It's really like an underrated thing to have a good neighbor these days. Like, you don't find people like him in the world, let alone living right beside you. That is a blessing."
But Greg's impact goes beyond just kind neighborliness. Kaye shared that the reason Greg hadn't seen her in a while is because she has been working extensive overtime trying to catch up on bills, and it's taken a toll on her emotionally.
"My mental health hasn't been the greatest, because trying to be a mom, doing everything, working, life doesn't stop or slow down for anyone," she said. "Just seeing [Greg] really restored my faith in humanity. Yes, people do care about you, believe it or not. There's people that care that you're here. They check on you, even if you don't know it."
Some felt like her old man neighbor might be a guardian angel of sorts sent by Kaye's father.
In another follow-up video, Kaye revealed that she and Greg are actually more than just neighbors — and there just might be something to the idea that her Dad is watching out for her via Greg.
When her father died about 10 years ago, his body was donated to science. Kaye's parents had remained close long after their divorce in her teens and never remarried. So when it came time to bury his remains a few years ago, Kaye's mother suggested they just keep the joint burial plots they'd purchased together and bury him there.
At the burial ceremony, Kaye said, "it was just me, my mom, my sister, her kids, her husband — and Greg. Greg was there." It turns out, Greg is a funeral director, had sold the burial plots to her parents years before, and ended up leading their small burial ceremony. "Small world," she said.
It's made their "father figure" relationship feel even more significant — Kaye said his check-ins feel like "the closest [her dad] can come to picking up the phone."
Kaye and Greg's connection really is an all too rare thing nowadays. Data shows that a sense of community among neighbors has been steadily declining for decades — one British survey showed one in three people don't even know their neighbors' names, and studies have even linked this decline to our present political turmoil and polarization.
Kaye definitely feels how lucky she is to have a relationship like this. "We're all in our own little world," she said, "but just to know that you can touch someone's lives without even knowing... It's just good to know that there's people out there like Greg. And I feel very blessed."
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.