FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- When Barbara Nielsen went out-of-state on a work trip, she never expected she’d get the ‘Welcome Home’ greeting she received from her husband and son that day.
After getting off the plane at Fort Smith Regional Airport, she saw her son Daimen, 4, holding a cardboard sign with a message written in marker that said, “Welcome Home From Prison Mom”.
The funny, or not so funny part, depending on how you look at it, is the fact that Barbara has never been to prison.
“I saw lots of laughter, except for me whose rolling my eyes,” said Barbara laughing.
Brandon, her husband, said he was inspired to make it after seeing a similar sign on social media. In order to execute the plan, he didn’t tell his son about it in advance. He just gave him the sign to hold.
“I figured he'd try to make a big deal about it,” said her husband Brandon.
Speaking of big deal, this good-humored joke has turned into one on Facebook.
A post with Daimen smiling and holding the sign has been shared nearly 130,000 times and has been liked close to 75,000 times.
“We've had people from all over contacting us and telling us how funny it is,” said Barbara.
However, aside from the social media hype, the Nielsens say the sign acts as a powerful reminder to all of us to lighten-up.
"People have fun. Stop being so serious,” said Barbara. “Get some humor in your life," explained Brandon.
Brandon did mention that Barbara would be going on another work trip soon, so he was brainstorming what he’d do this time around.
We aren’t sure if he’s serious or not; We will have to wait and see.