The past few birthdays for my oldest son haven't had many party guest, like zero. It was heartbreaking to see him have to be in the bounce house or bowl alone. I mean his siblings, aunts, uncle and grandparents were there but no friends or peers. This year he had only asked for one thing. A bike ride.
I casually put out on my Facebook status about his wish and openly invited anyone who wanted to join his family on the bike ride to come.
Unknown to me, some JV football players found out about it and asked a few of their teammates to join in. The only problem is it was during their practice. They asked their coach if they would be able to leave practice early so they could attend. Well, the coach said yes and tasked the rest of the teams to join as well.
On his birthday, 6:30 rolled around and our culdisac filled with bikes. All three teams (freshman, JV, and varsity) showed up on bikes, scooters, or on foot, along with countless adults, friends, and neighbors. Over 100 people showed up! Some girls brought him some balloons and a gift. The football team presented him with a team hat and shirt, a few others gave him his favorite snacks, treats, and trinkets. A special family showed up dressed like his favorite characters, Scooby-Doo and even drove over in a Mystery Machine.
When we took off for the ride around our half mile loop, the road was completely packed with bikes. Seth was in complete heaven. His dad and I hadn't seen him this happy, ever. It was overwhelming, Amazingly heartwarming. Overjoyed to say the least, but most of all extremely happy.
Seth loves to go to school now. These kids go out of their way to say hi to him or give him a high five. It makes him feel so included and part of the guys.
These kids have no idea how much this simple bike ride meant to Seth. They made his whole day, year actually.
I casually put out on my Facebook status about his wish and openly invited anyone who wanted to join his family on the bike ride to come.
Unknown to me, some JV football players found out about it and asked a few of their teammates to join in. The only problem is it was during their practice. They asked their coach if they would be able to leave practice early so they could attend. Well, the coach said yes and tasked the rest of the teams to join as well.
On his birthday, 6:30 rolled around and our culdisac filled with bikes. All three teams (freshman, JV, and varsity) showed up on bikes, scooters, or on foot, along with countless adults, friends, and neighbors. Over 100 people showed up! Some girls brought him some balloons and a gift. The football team presented him with a team hat and shirt, a few others gave him his favorite snacks, treats, and trinkets. A special family showed up dressed like his favorite characters, Scooby-Doo and even drove over in a Mystery Machine.
When we took off for the ride around our half mile loop, the road was completely packed with bikes. Seth was in complete heaven. His dad and I hadn't seen him this happy, ever. It was overwhelming, Amazingly heartwarming. Overjoyed to say the least, but most of all extremely happy.
Seth loves to go to school now. These kids go out of their way to say hi to him or give him a high five. It makes him feel so included and part of the guys.
These kids have no idea how much this simple bike ride meant to Seth. They made his whole day, year actually.
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