Earlier this month, Maya Alderman took her son to a local Target to buy a Barbie doll he'd been saving up for. In a letter she eventually shared on Facebook, she admits that she was nervous for the outing, as her young son's preferences for stereotypical "female" toys and clothing sometimes draw negative attention from others.

On this particular day, Alderman writes that her son was wearing "a fuchsia rose headband...with his Batman flip flops" and so she was anxious about the "stares and the thoughts people [would be] thinking about him." As soon as they turned down the toy aisle, however, she says her panic lifted when she saw "the happiness on his face...at the all pink-purple-and-glitter aisle filled to the brim with beautiful dolls. Pure. Innocent. Joy."

It quickly returned, however, as she noticed a family of four (mother, father and two sons) on the same aisle looking at trucks and action figures. Though the family seemed engrossed in their own toy adventure, Alderman says she couldn't help but focus a great deal of attention on what they might do once they saw her son.

"You probably didn’t notice me catch my breath as we approached your family in that aisle, wondering what my reaction would be should you or one of your sons point and laugh. But I noticed you. I saw you," she writes.

As Alderman and her son got closer, the family eventually lifted their heads to notice the pair as they poured over the Barbies. How the other mother reacted stunned Alderman.

"You looked down at my boy with his pretty headband and beaming blue eyes, and then you looked up at me," she begins.

"Our eyes met, and you smiled. You smiled. And then you looked back at your boys who were staring at my son, and you smiled at them. And so they went back to picking out Hot Wheels, and we went on to find the perfect ballerina Barbie doll."

The small moment brought immeasurable relief to Alderman who describes the exchange as a "mom-to-mom high five" that quietly let her know that everything was "going to be alright."

"Thank you for noticing my son and making sure your boys saw that his differences were just fine with you," her letter concludes. "Thank you for easing my anxiety that morning. Thank you for giving me the look."

Since Alderman posted the letter three weeks ago it has gained over 25,000 likes and been shared hundreds of times. See it in full below.

h/t: Pink News