There’s nothing quite like falling in love and knowing you’ve found your person. It can take years for some of us to find the one. For others, they’ve been part of our lives forever. Zoe Kampf and her fiancé Sean Folloder met when they were just kids at Shlenker School in Houston, Texas. Years later, Sean became a high school geometry teacher, and Zoe began working for Shlenker. The pair fell in love and got engaged in December 2024. One year later, Sean wanted to surprise Zoe with a special bridal shower and decided to get her students in on the terrific surprise. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zoë (@zoekampf) Sean Planed the Bridal Shower at Shlenker School Zoe told the Jewish Herald-Voice she had no idea what Sean had up his sleeve. She went to school on December 12, expecting a typical day. But soon, she had a wonderful surprise bridal shower that included her 4-year-old students in bow ties and crowns. “When I walked in, I was really surprised,” Zoe said. “They had cookies and decorated the classroom. They gave me a sash and a veil and crown. It was really cute.” Sean added that being part of the celebration was a lot of fun for him. He knows how much the school means to Zoe, and this bridal shower helped reflect his love for her. “It was great surprising her at school,” Sean said. “She is such a great teacher and everyone, from her kids to her kids’ parents to the staff, loves her.” Even though the pair had technically known one another for years, they didn’t actually start dating until 2021. Sean’s grandmother, Barbie Freedman, has been teaching at the school for 41 years. She helped play matchmaker. “I remember Barbie said, ‘You guys should really date.’ We were like, ‘OK,’” Zoe said. “I guess we took her advice. After camp ended, he asked me to go for sushi.” And the rest, as they say, is history. We love this for Zoe and Sean and hope their students remember this special bridal shower for years to come. Who knows, they might even be sitting next to their future spouse. This story’s featured image can be found here.

When my friend invited me to join her family for their once-a-month movie night, she asked which John Hughes movie she should show her 14-year-old twins. The answer was obvious. It had to be something fun, school-related, and iconic. Ferris Bueller's Day Off seemed like the perfect choice, since we Gen X-ers loved it when we were exactly their age in 1986.The fraternal twins (one boy, one girl) sat down on a rare early Saturday evening when neither had dance practice or a sleepover. We gathered in our comfy clothes, popped some popcorn, and hit "rent now."They were excited by the opening scene, where an adorable Matthew Broderick (doesn't matter what generation one is, he transcends them all) is pretending to be sick in bed with worrying parents. His sister Jeanie is suspicious and exhausted by his antics, but Ferris prevails. He then delivers a brilliant monologue about eating life up and living in the moment. His now-famous line, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” is still plastered in quote books and on Bumble profiles.The twins seemed inspired, and one of them actually teared up in the first five minutes. - YouTube www.youtube.com Spoilers ahead: the movie is pretty simple. Ferris is a super cool high school kid with a beautiful girlfriend, Sloane, played by Mia Sara. His best friend is a depressed hypochondriac named Cameron, who is played to perfection by Alan Ruck. Ferris skips school a lot (nine times!) and grabs each day by the neck. There are themes of hedonism, nihilism, and Taoism, but neither twin mentioned them.The first thing both kids did bring up was how privileged the characters were. Affluent Chicago suburbs, after all, was the setting John Hughes knew best. They also noted, as many have over the years, that Ferris seemed rather selfish and insensitive to what others in his life wanted and needed.Who is the true hero of 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'?There have been many conversations over the years about Cameron being the true hero of the film. He has an unwavering story arc, unlike Ferris's. He's sad, but pushes through it and even gets the guts up to stand up to his father after accidentally totaling the old man's prized Ferrari.In fact, there was a theory that Ferris was a figment of Cameron's imagination—a Fight Club scenario, if you will. Robert Vaux writes on CBR, "The theory holds that the entire day is a fantasy taking place in Cameron's head while he lies sick in bed. His sickness actually supports the theory: once Ferris comes over, it vanishes, and Cameron plunges energetically, if reluctantly, into the events of the day. According to the theory, it's because there are no events of the day. He's still sick at home, and the whole thing is a daydream."I fully expected the twins to have similar thoughts. If not the Fight Club part, at least the idea that Cameron was the true protagonist. But what they (both of them) said instead was shocking. "No," the daughter told me. "I mean, I liked Ferris, and I loved Cameron. But it's Jeanie who's the hero here."Jeanie, the sister mentioned earlier, was played with pure rage by Jennifer Grey. She spends most of the movie attempting to narc on Ferris rather than enjoying her own beautiful day. She is angry and determined until…she meets a "bad boy" at the county jail, played complete with bloodshot eyes by Charlie Sheen. (Sheen stayed up super late the night before the shoot so that he looked weary. "I just figure if I show up looking tired, that's going to be an asset. I need to look tired, so I'm gonna be tired. There was no booze, no dope, there was nothing involved in that night preparing for this," he said.)Taken aback, their mom pushed back. "Jeanie, the sister? Why?"The son answers, "She just changes the most. She starts out, like, having it in for Ferris. Really, having it in for EVERYONE. And then she just like figures it out." The daughter adds, "Yeah, in the end she was rooting for Ferris. She came the farthest from where she started and she's the one who kinda saved him." - YouTube www.youtube.com Gobsmacked, I turned to Reddit for more answers. In the subreddit r/movies, someone recently posted, "Something I noticed about Ferris Bueller's Day Off." They then proceed to drive the Cameron theory forward. "At the start of the film, Cameron is in bed sickly and not really confident in himself, but as the movie progresses, he starts to get more confidence, and by the end, he gains the courage to stand up to his father."What is a flat or static character?A Redditor replies with this thoughtful answer: "I've heard it called a flat character arc when the protagonist doesn't change but is instead the catalyst for those around them to change. It's hard to pull off but is often the most satisfying kind of character. Ted Lasso (especially in season one) is a good example."Others echo that idea, offering up characters like Forrest Gump and The Dude from The Big Lebowski. Chauncey Gardiner in Being There is another great example; he remains the same while the world projects its own personality onto him. So is Mary Poppins; she blows into town, has a big effect on everyone around her, and then flies off.These characters stayed exactly the same while the world or others in their lives changed around them. It's described on a YouTube clip as "The moment you realize the main character is not actually the main character." - YouTube www.youtube.com This would give credence to the twins' opinion. But I'd never heard anyone choose Jeanie before (and they weren't swayed by Grey's performance in Dirty Dancing because they hadn't seen it yet). When pressed one more time, their answer didn't change. "No doubt, it's the sister. She should have a spinoff." Their mom was so proud, and we all totally agree.This article originally appeared last year. It has since been updated.

Teachers play a much larger role than simply being educators—in fact, teaching basic reading and writing pales in comparison to the nurturing, life lessons, and support they provide for kids. Elementary school teacher Alice Yates (@missaliceinteacherland) understands what it means to go above and beyond for her students, especially those in need.In a video posted to her Instagram in early 2025, Yates shared an emotional story about a student who recently lost a parent. After noticing she was coming to school with her hair unbrushed most days, she decided to step in with kindness by doing her hair everyday.At the start of the video, Yates shows herself brushing out a little girl's hair as she tells her story in the captions. "A few months ago one of my student's parent died pretty suddenly...she was coming to school with her hair not even brushed most days," she writes. "I just wanted to help where I could. So I bought a cheap comb and hair ties so that I could at least do a basic pony for her to get her hair out of her face." See on Instagram The small act of love did not go unnoticed. Her other students noticed Yates doing the student's hair, and wanted to get their hair done, too. "Then the other girls in the class started asking if I'd do their hair too. Now during breakfast, we have chitchats while we do hair! I wouldn't trade this time for anything. It has helped us all become so much closer.❤️"She goes on to explain that she wasn't sure if parents would be okay with it, but was put at ease after getting a thankful message from one. See on Instagram "I was a little nervous some parents might take it the wrong way that I'm doing their kids hair, but then I got this message: 'I just FaceTimed with [student's name] and saw her hair. It was adorable. Thank you for being extra sweet to my girl while I'm away. I don't even know what her hair looked like when she came in lol."Yates offered more details on why she treasures the personal interactions with her students: "I love being the teacher that I needed growing up...when I was a kid many of my teachers didn’t take the time to get to know us. They didn’t really show us love, tell us about their family, or even ask about ours," she writes. "They showed up, taught from a McGraw Hill Teacher Guide and went home. I think back on school and I hated it most years. I can count on one hand the teachers that I felt safe and happy with." See on Instagram Her experiences inspired her to be a different teacher. "School filled me with so much anxiety and I think it’s a huge reason why I pour my heart and soul into teaching now," she writes. "I find so much comfort in looking into a parents eyes and telling them that I will take care of their baby, and they look back and me and know I mean it. ❤️"Yates' emotional video got an incredibly supportive response from viewers. "And that’s a vocation right there & exactly the teacher our children need ?," one wrote.Another shared, "This is beautiful bc when I was in 3rd grade my dad almost died in a motorcycle accident. Needless to say with no family nearby, most days I was barely dressed much less brushed. My teacher would bring barrettes to put up my hair and ill never forget the difference it made in my life ♡."Another commented, "They will never forget you and the time you took for them ❤️."If you would like to contribute to Miss Alice's classroom, you can shop her Amazon Classroom Wishlist here.This article originally appeared last year.

As many modern-day parents can attest, grandpdarents like to give a lot of...stuff. It can be overwhelming and frustrating, bringing all these things into your home that you have to find a place for, all of it adding to the clutter and mental load. Some informal surveys say 75% of parents are frustrated that grandparents give the kids too many gifts. And it's not just gifts, but food, baked goods, and groceries that noboday asked for—it's all too much!It's a double-edged sword, though, because sometimes the stuff is great and really helpful. It's important to remember that there is a lot of generosity and love behind grandparents' (sometimes outlandish) gifting. It's a way for them to stay connected to the family when they can't always be there during the day-to-day. A little gift here and there is a way to show the grandkids they love them, and sending a batch of brownies you definitely don't want to be eating is just their little way of helping out.To that end, a mom on TikTok recently showed off her outrageous haul from her mother-in-law, who sent a laughably generous care package when the family was sick with the flu. Sick woman in bed with thermometer, scarf, and hot water bottle on neck.Photo credit: CanvaMakenzie Hubbell can barely contain her laughter as she begins telling the story on camera."My entire family is sick and we asked our mother-in-law to shop for us, so this is everything she got."Hubbell then holds up two eight-packs of Gatorade, or enough to hydrate a professional sports team."We asked for some goldfish for my son, for when he starts eating." Cue enormous, bulk-sized tub of Goldfish crackers. Then two giant bags of Tyson's chicken nuggets. "We asked for ground turkey. She got us two," Hubbell says, showing off the packs."Did not ask for these, but very thankful," she says, holding up a container of strawberries. "Strawberries are very expensive."It went on and on. A huge package of chicken breast that could feed their family for a week. But the package wasn't just food and rations. There was a book for the little one, cupcakes for mom's birthday, and a gift in an adorable bag (spoiler: It was a candle and a t-shirt).The care package was a veritable clown car of supplies and gifts. It's safe to say that mom-in-law went way overboard, in the way that grandparents do. Watch Hubbell show it all off here: @chunkymak i fear the gatorade wont last more than 3 days?? #plussize #plussizeedition #groceries #groceryhaul ♬ original sound - chunkymak Commenters related heavily to the video, and it's got us wondering if mother-in-laws have been getting a bad rap all this time.Turns out that mothers-in-law, despite their reputation, are coming in clutch all over the place! We might not always see eye to eye, but they're some of the most reliable and generous family members out there."You won the mother-in-law lottery.""This is my MIL but she gives so much and won’t allow us to pay any portion back.""My ex's mother, my oldest son’s grandma, drops off a care package of groceries every time she goes to Costco. Always a rotisserie chicken. Muffins, fruit, snacks for school and fresh veggies.""Welcome to the best mother in law club. My husband had a lot of health issues before he passed and my MIL would schedule her cleaning lady to come over the day before he came home from the hospital.""My MIL is the same way…but times 4. If I asked her to pick some things up, it would be a haul. Those of us that are blessed, APPRECIATE!""So happy when I hear positive MIL stories on this app. While I am not one nor do I have one it always seems like they’re getting such a bad rap."To add to the comedy of it all, Hubbell's mother-in-law was back with more rations and an entire pharmacy's-worth of medical supplies the very next day: @chunkymak Replying to @weetchofthewoods she also got us the sams club big pack of pampers cruisers in the wrong size so she's going to exchange them but she's got such a huge heart? #plussize #plussizeedition #groceries #groceryhaul ♬ original sound - chunkymak Conflict between women and their mothers-in-law might be a little exaggerated by sitcoms and stand-up comics, but it is a tricky relationship to manage. - YouTube www.youtube.com Mothers-in-law are naturally protective of their own children and have strong feelings and opinions about how their grandchildren are being raised. Communication and boundaries are key, but can be a challenge for any family to navigate with grandparents.Case in point: Just as many commenters on Hubbell's video expressed regret that they didn't have nearly as good of a relationship with their own MIL.It's a good exercise for any married person to look past the conflicts and disagreements and recognize how generous grandparents, and especially those pesky mothers-in-law, can be with their time and money. They just love to go overboard like in Hubbell's viral video, and seem to take pride in being more helpful than you could possibly ever ask them to be. Sure, that generosity also comes with a lot of junk and a little more spoiling of the kids than you'd like, but Hubbell's video is a good reminder to stop and be appreciative for just a moment if you're lucky enough to have an overly generous mother-in-law in your life.This article originally appeared last year.

Some love stories are so out of the ordinary that they are worth sharing with the world. And few love stories are as extraordinary as the one between a man and the sweet creature that hatched from a mysterious egg he found and incubated.The true tale of Riyadh and Spike's starts like the opening to a children's book: "One day, a man was walking along and spotted a lone egg where an egg should not have been…" And between that beginning and the story's mostly sweet ending is a beautiful journey of curiosity, care, and connection that captivated people all over the world.Irish author, broadcaster, and activist Riyadh Khalaf was out walking in Devon, England, when he came upon an egg."We just found what we think is a duck egg," Riyadh says in a video showing the milky white egg sitting in a pile of dirt. "Just sitting here on its own. No nest. No other eggs." What do you do when you find an egg where it doesn't belong? Photo credit: Canva Thinking there was no way it was going to survive on its own, Riyadh put the egg in a paper cup cushioned with a napkin and took it home to London, which entailed two car rides, a hotel stay, a train ride, a tube ride, and a bus ride. He said he used to breed chickens and pigeons, so he had some experience with birds. Knowing the egg could survive for a while in a dormant state, he ordered an incubator on Amazon. An incubator keeps eggs at a particular temperature and humidity range in order to allow them to continue growing. They mimic the warmth the egg receives from the mother bird sitting on it in the nest. Without that warmth, the fetus inside the egg will die.With the egg tucked safely inside the warm incubator, the journey to see if the egg was viable began.Even though it was "just an egg," Riyadh quickly became attached, and once it showed signs of life he took on the role of "duck dad."Every day, the egg showed a drastic change in development. The incubator was working, and Riyadh's giddy joy at each new discovery—movement, a discernible eye, a beak outline—was palpable. He devoured information on ducks to learn as much as he could about the baby he was (hopefully) about to hatch and care for.Finally, 28 days later, the shell of the egg began to crack. The baby was coming! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riyadh Khalaf (@riyadhk)"I could see this very clear outline of the most gorgeous little round bill," Riyadh said—confirmation that it was, indeed, a duck as he had suspected. But duckling hatching is a process, and one they have to do it on their own. Ducklings instinctively know to turn the egg as it hatches so that the umbilical cord detaches, and the whole process can take up to 48 hours. Riyadh watched and monitored until he finally fell asleep, but at 4:51am, 29 hours after the egg had started to hatch, he awakened to the sound of tweets."There was just this little wet alien staring back at me," he said. "It was love at first sight."Riyadh named his rescue duckling Spike. Once Spike was ready to leave the incubator, he moved into "Duckingham Palace," a setup with all of the things he would need to grow into a healthy, self-sufficient duck—including things that contribute to his mental health. (Apparently, ducklings can die from poor mental health, which can happen when they don't have other ducks to interact with—who knew?)"My son shall not only survive, but he shall thrive!" declared the proud papa. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riyadh Khalaf (@riyadhk)Riyadh knew it would be impossible for Spike not to imprint on him somewhat, but he didn't want him to see him as his mother. Riyadh set up mirrors so that Spike could see another duckling (even though it was just himself) and used a surrogate stuffed duck to teach him how to do things like eat food with his beak.He used a duck whistle and hid his face from Spike while feeding him, and he played duck sounds on his computer to accustom Spike to the sounds of his species. He knew that Spike could not stay and live with him forever, so he'd need to learn how to become a normal, everyday duck."It's just such a fulfilling process to watch a small being learn," said Riyadh.As Spike grew, Riyadh took him to the park to get him accustomed to the outdoors and gave him opportunities to swim in a small bath. He learned to forage and do all the things a duck needs to do. Throughout, Riyadh made sure that Spike was getting the proper balanced nutrition he needed as well.In the wild, most ducks eat plants, small insects, seeds, grains, and fruits. Some species of ducks will even eat small fish. Contrary to popular belief, bread is not good for ducks. It's not inherently harmful, but it's basically candy to them — it has little to none of the nutrients their bodies need. So if they fill up on bread, they may eat less of the foods they really need. Riyadh had a lot to learn!Check this out: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Riyadh Khalaf (@riyadhk)After 89 days, the day finally came for Spike to leave Riyadh's care and be integrated into a community of his kind "to learn how to properly be a duck."A rehabilitation center welcomed him in and he joined a flock in an open-air facility where he would be able to choose whether to stay or to leave once he became accustomed to flying. Within a few weeks of being at the rehabilitation center, his signature mallard colors developed, marking his transition from adolescence. Spike has been thriving with his flock, and Riyadh was even able to share video of his first flight.This is where "And they all lived happily ever after" would be a fitting end to the story, but unfortunately, Spike and his fowl friends are living in trying times. The rehabilitation center was notified by the U.K. government in December of 2024 that the duck flock needed to be kept indoors for the time being to protect them from a bird flu outbreak and keep it from spreading.Building an entire building for a flock of ducks is not a simple or cheap task, so Riyadh called on his community of "daunties" and "duncles" who had been following Spike's story to help with a fundraiser to build a "Duckingham Palace" for the whole flock. Riyadh's followers quickly raised over £11,000, which made a huge difference for the center's owners to be able to protect Spike and his friends.All in all, Riyadh and Spike's story is a testament to what can happen when people genuinely care. If Riyadh had left that egg where it was, it may not have made it. If Spike hadn't survived and been moved to the rehab center, the ducks there would be in greater danger of the bird flu due to the costs of building an indoor shelter for them. Despite the ongoing bird flu threat, the story really does have a happy ending.In an update from June 2025, Riyadh shares that Spike is currently living with Leanne Clarke, who built a rescue shelter called "The Quack Shack" in her home. Riyadh's story and fundraising made much of the construction possible. Spike is starting to remember Riyadh less and less, which is bittersweet, but means that Spike is thriving in his new, safe, domesticated life.Thanks to Riyadh for sharing Spike's journey with us. (You can follow Riyadh on Instagram here.)This article originally appeared in January. It has been updated.