An 88-year-woman in British Columbia has been waving to schoolchildren from her window for the past 12 years, and now that she's moving into an assisted living home, hundreds of the children who knew her want to say goodbye.
Tinney Davidson has lived in Comox since 2007, when she and her husband bought a house near Highland Secondary School. Every morning, as students walked in front of their house on their way to class, she would offer up a friendly wave. Many of the kids waved back, and thus it became somewhat of a ritual.
"I just liked the look of the children," Davidson told CBC News in 2014. "They all looked in and I thought, ‘If they’re looking in, I’ll wave to them,’ and that’s how it started."
After her husband passed away, Tinney maintained the daily practice. The children even sent her Valentine's Day cards and gifts in 2016 to demonstrate just how much they appreciated her. "You know, it’s just, ‘Love you, you’re wonderful, you’re amazing,’ love and kisses and everything else," she said about the gesture.
When the children became aware that "Waving Granny" was moving into an assisted living home, they again showed up to repay her for her kindness. 400 students at the nearby secondary school congregated on Davidson's front lawn to say goodbye. The children gave her flowers and let her know just how much her kindness has meant to them.
The emotional exchange brought Davidson tears of joy, which was captured on video. "I was shocked again that there’s so many kids that want to say goodbye to me," she said. You can watch the tear-jerking gesture in clip above.
