Coon Rapids Mother Gets White House Mother's Day Surprise
COON RAPIDS, Minn. (WCCO)- As a loving mother, Stephanie Tarr is teaching her boys the value of volunteering. To stay on task they gave the boy's grandma a calendar, listing their good deeds for the year.
"Such as Earth Day, we're going to pick up trash," Tarr said. "On Mother's Day, we're going to write cards to moms who have children in the hospital."
On President's Day, 9-year old Kenny wrote to President Barack Obama. Then on Tuesday came several packages from the White House.
Inside, were signed photos of the First Family along with pictures of their dogs, Sunny and Bo.
But the real gems in the packages were two presidential letters signed by Obama, addressed to Tarr and her boys.
"Kenny and Kai are so lucky to have a mom so dedicated to putting opportunity within their reach," the typewritten letter read.
That wasn't all. The next day, the boys' father, Ken Jones, got a phone call from an unknown number.
"It was coming from the White House, and I said, 'I can give you her direct number, so you can call her directly, because it sounds pretty important.'"
It was important, in fact it was a phone call Tarr will never forget.
"He just picked up the phone, and he said, 'Hi Stephanie, this is President Barack Obama calling to wish you a Happy Mother's Day," Tarr said.
Tarr said they spoke for about four minutes, adding, "It was surreal, it's unbelievable."
They talked about parenthood, pre-school and doing good deeds. Luckily, it was her day off.
"He was very casual and asked me what we were up to today?" she said.
"I told him I was doing laundry and what not," she said with a laugh.
It's so true, the saying that a mother's work is never done. But those oft-spoken words now come with presidential appreciation.
"Anytime I have any doubts if I'm doing a good job as a mom and doing the right thing for my boys, I can remember the president of the United States said I was doing a good job," Tarr said.