A Florida mom had no idea that her toddler’s fascination with their sanitation workers would turn into a lasting friendship with one of the drivers.
In a reel on Instagram, Brie Mazin (@floridayogamama) captured a friendship five years in the making between her young son Shea and a local sanitation worker named Loubet.
Since he was just 18 months old, Shea has been obsessed with sanitation trucks. “From his window on the second floor, he would hear when Loubet would turn our street and see the lights,” Mazin told Newsweek. “Daylight saving time never stopped him from making sure to rush out.”
Each Friday without fail, Shea would wait by the door, often running outside barefoot, sometimes in pajamas or just a diaper, and each week, he would bring cold drinks out for Loubet and his coworker.
“Observing what they share is so touching,” Mazin told Newsweek. “It doesn’t matter their age, ethnicity, race; they are just true besties.”
Mazin’s heartwarming clip shows Shea eagerly waiting at the curb, then grinning ear to ear as Loubet pulls up and calls out: “What’s going on, my man?”
“Shea tells him about anything that’s happening, whether it’s about losing his first tooth, or our family trips,” the 42-year-old said. “Currently, it’s all about his tee-ball playing. Shea recently made the All-Star team and wants Loubet to come to one of his upcoming tournaments.”
The Instagram reel has gone viral on the platform, amassing more than 3.3 million views since it was posted on April 22.
Thousands of users poured into the comments section, showing only love for the little boy.
“This kid gives me hope that the world will be a better place filled with love, no race divide or class divide,” one user wrote.
“That’s his inherited uncle now,” another commented.
Many others praised Mazin for raising such a kind and considerate son. “Parents did a fantastic job. The consistency is top notch. It’s going to be a lifetime memory for him,” a third user said.
“As a mom, my heart melts when I see Shea light up when he would wait for the truck,” Mazin said. “He was so into it that for his 2nd birthday, we had a garbage-truck-theme cake and printed out a photo of him and Loubet.”
Recently, Mazin told Newsweek that Loubet invited the family to his wife’s surprise 40th birthday party.
In a photo at the end of the reel, Shea stands in a pink shirt while Loubet, in a tuxedo, beams beside him. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Mazin said. “It was amazing to meet her in person after all these years.”
The post Toddler Meets Neighborhood Sanitation Worker—Mom Unprepared for What’s Next appeared first on Newsweek.
