Woman Reunites With Toddler After 3 Days Away—Not Prepared for His Reaction

It's often said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but one toddler's hilarious reaction when reuniting with his mom after three days apart appears to refute that adage.

When Elizabeth Maclay, 34, went to her sister's bachelorette party, it was the longest she'd been away from her 15-month-old son, Michael. She missed him the whole time she was gone, and she was counting down the minutes until she could return home and see him again.

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Maclay, from Massachusetts, had imagined receiving an overwhelming reaction from her son when she got home, telling Newsweek that she thought he might "squeal in excitement." Unfortunately, that certainly wasn't the reality she was greeted with as Michael had just woken up from a nap and he was in no mood for smiling.

She captured the hilarious moment she greeted her son after being away for three days and received a very underwhelming reaction from the toddler. The clip was posted on TikTok (@elizabethmaclay) and has amused many, gaining over 1.4 million views and more than 40,700 likes in a matter of days.

"He had just woken up from his afternoon nap and woke up a little grumpy. He woke up crying, and I ran up to greet him and he seemed half asleep," Maclay said.

"I thought it was pretty funny. I was expecting him to react how he usually does when he sees me, but instead had no reaction. I actually laughed about it with my husband, friends and family after."

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Fortunately for Maclay, it only took a few minutes for Michael to wake up properly and he was "back to his happy self" shortly after. Eventually, he gave his mom the warm welcome she'd been looking for—he just wasn't quite ready initially.

After sharing the video on social media, Maclay joked in the caption that "next time [she's] leaving for longer." If three days isn't enough to get a reaction out of Michael, maybe a two-week vacation will do the trick?

The viral clip has generated plenty of attention online, and while many fellow parents could relate to the realities of motherhood, there were also a lot of negative comments too.

Maclay told Newsweek: "By this point, nothing on social media shocks me anymore. I have been creating content for nearly three years and I have heard every comment under the sun.

"The negativity of strangers does not affect me because I'm confident that I'm a great mother and that my children are extremely loved. The ones who know me personally know that my children are my world."

With over 1,900 comments on the TikTok post already, plenty of people lauded Michael's sassy response after waking up from his nap. One comment reads: "He said, 'Look who decided to show up.'"

Another person responded: "He's holding a grudge!"

While another TikTok user joked: "He's gonna be a coffee-first type of guy, lol."

Do you have any funny videos or pictures of your family you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.