Since the pandemic, delivery workers have increased exponentially, from delivery of groceries to take out to the classic delivery: pizza. And these delivery people aren’t always appreciated or at least it’s generally not the norm for customers to thinking about delivery people’s private lives–their joys and their struggles. …at least by adults. That brings us to the beautiful story caught on camera when a toddler hugs the pizza delivery man.
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How it Happened: The Toddler Hugs the Pizza Delivery Man
The home’s front door camera caught both the sound and visual of the delivery man going to the door, handing over the pizza, and the toddler’s mother saying thank you. The audio catches the toddler saying thanking the delivery man, and then as he is walking through a gate on the porch, Cohen, the 2-year-old, runs to the man, and you see the toddler hugs the pizza delivery man.
Some say the toddler must’ve sensed something in the pizza delivery man. Whether he did isn’t known, but what we do know is that the hug meant a lot to the man, who had recently lost his own daughter. ABC news reported the mother, Lindsey Sheely, from Rhode Island, had ordered pizza on a Saturday night. Ryan Catterson, the pizza delivery man was the lucky one who got to deliver it.
At the time, Ryan was in the midst of mourning his 16-year-old daughter’s death. At the time of the delivery, Ryan was reportedly struggling greatly with the loss. That’s why Cohen’s sweet hug was so meaningful to the man, and moving to the public that sent the clip into viral mode. When the toddler hugs the pizza delivery man, Ryan, he hugged the toddler right back. Naturally, Lindsey didn’t expect her toddler to run out like that. They didn’t know Ryan or anything about his situation.
That’s why Lindsey ran out after her son, in an attempt to stop him. But then she saw the toddler hug the pizza delivery man. It was this event that sparked a conversation. Ryan shared what the hug meant to him. He said it meant more than any size tip he could’ve gotten.
“After losing my daughter this past week, it touched me because it was like she was there,” Ryan explained. “It really just meant a lot to me. It’s going to be tough not going to be able to hug her again,” speaking of his daughter, Alyssa. Ryan said he would treasure the moment on that video when the toddler hugs the pizza delivery man–that’s him because of how it made him feel closer to his own daughter.
Lindsey shared the video on social media, and of course it went viral.