When Megan Clark and her husband Riley Harrison Clark were getting ready to take their daughter Kate, who was 22 months old at the time, to her first day of school, they saw that their neighbors were waiting in their driveway.
Once they moved into their house in the suburbs of Nashville, the Clarks, who were originally from Alabama and Oklahoma, had developed a strong relationship with their neighbors, Brenda Brister, who was 75 years old, and her husband, Albert “Buddy” Brister, who was 83 years old. Brenda and Buddy rapidly became like family to Megan and her three children, including Kate, who was born after the family had moved in. This was due to the fact that Megan and her family did not have any local relatives.
Megan claims that Kate phones the couple on a daily basis and requests to come for a visit to their home. For example, Brenda and Buddy send Megan texts on a daily basis to inquire about Kate and the rest of the family, and Megan has stored on her phone a large number of movies and photographs that document their time spent together.
PEOPLE has an exclusive interview with Megan, who is 32 years old. “Buddy is a Vietnam veteran with a tough exterior, but he’s incredibly gentle with Kate,” she says. Every every day, he makes a trip to Walmart, and practically every time he does, he brings her something that is really unique. The place where they live in is loaded with all of her favorite programs and food. This is really reassuring to look at.”
By the time Megan informed Brenda and Buddy for the first time that Kate would be beginning school in the fall, Buddy was “torn up,” as she describes it.
“He told me, ‘You can’t send her to school like that. She will be retained by us. The question is, “How many days is she going to be gone?” Megan thinks back on it. “I informed him that she would arrive only on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” I said. “We are able to keep her,” he said. It is sufficient for us to plan our visits with the physician on separate days.'”
With tears in his eyes, Buddy came over soon after Brenda to say goodbye to Kate on the first day of school. Brenda had been over to see Kate go. After capturing the heartfelt moment on tape, Megan immediately uploaded it to her TikTok account, where it has now received more than one million views.
The words “Buddy loves you” were said to Kate by Buddy. “Please save me a seat at lunch.” I will occupy a seat next to you. Buddy even drove to the school around lunchtime in the hopes of catching a sight of Kate when she was playing on the playground. The school is located only down the street from their living space.
Megan made a promise to Kate that if she performed well at school, they would pay a visit to Brenda and Buddy afterward as a “reward.” This was done in order to assist Kate in making the change.
“Brenda and Buddy see Kate each and every single day,” Megan explains. “If they don’t, they ask us if we can bring her over,” the speaker said. Even while it might be a bit overwhelming at times, it is enjoyable. I had a great time with them.
Unfortunately, Megan has not yet had the opportunity to inform Buddy and Brenda about the TikTok till now. Megan believes that the pair will be surprised to learn how many people adore Buddy, despite the fact that they are not very active on social media.
“I am quite grateful for the way in which people have accepted him. Megan comments, “It’s funny that people are thanking us for allowing him to love our baby because they’ve done so much more for us than we could ever do for them.” Megan expresses her amusement by saying, “It’s actually quite funny.” “The love they’ve given to our kids is something I never imagined from people who were once strangers.”
“He is been through so much,” she continues while talking about Buddy, “and then having that little baby that he just loves so much, it’s just sweet to see.”
@meganclarkhma Buddy & his girl! #fyp #firstdayofschool #neighbors #family #chosenfamily #buddy #love #grandparentsoftiktok ♬ Plant a Seed – Luke Combs