When parents drop their oldest children off at college, it's not unusual for them to get emotional. Mom might cry, dad might tear up, there's probably a group hug involved, and then the family car pulls away, leaving behind a freshly minted college freshman. But after the sentimental goodbyes, many college freshmen take the "out of sight, out of mind" approach when it comes to their parents—they get wrapped up in campus life and forget to call home.
Liam McCarney was worse than most—he didn't call home once in the three weeks since his mom, Ann Pinto McCarney, dropped him off a few hours away from their Pennsylvania home. And instead of giving him a call herself or sending a nice, subtle, text reminder, she put her son on blast in a Facebook video that's been shared more than 16,000 times.
McCarney's hilarious video begins with her asking Liam if he remembers her: "Do you remember me? I'm your mommy! I gave birth to you! Do you remember that was me that gave you life?" She goes on to joke about raising Liam, carrying him on her hip until he was two, feeding him for 18 years, and signing the checks for his private school.
Then, like the understanding mom she is, she chooses to give her son the benefit of the doubt:
You know what? Wait a minute. I need to stop and I need to back it up. I need to give you the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you haven't forgotten me; maybe you've forgotten how to use a phone!
She then painstakingly explains the phone-dialing process to her son, making extra sure that he won't be scared by the dial tone because, "I know you haven't heard it in a while." Luckily Aol reports that McCarney's tactics worked. Liam finally called his mom the day after the video was posted.
