We stayed at the school for about an hour after the party waiting for some families that came later to get the gifts. We met a little boy and his mother outside. Earlier that day, they were far away from home looking at a new piece of land to relocate their trailer home when the mother’s car began to leak fluid. She said they barely made it home before the car broke down. She found another car so that they could come to the party but ended up going to the wrong location across town. She said when they pulled up to Belle Aire Church (where the parties are often held) and they didn’t see any people, the little boy started to cry because he had missed the party. They finally arrived to the school later that night. He was so excited to see a bag of toys just for him that he forgot about missing the party. He posed his little heart out as my camera flashed. So cute!
Being in school with kids who have toys like Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS, it’s natural to want those toys too. I am always weary to list expensive items like these as the birthday wish but this time I told the family sponsoring Cristian that his only wish was a Nintendo. The donor was intent on making his wish come true and when Cristian opened that small bag and looked inside to find a brand new Nintendo DS and game, his face lit up with such genuine happiness and excitement. He immediately jumped on his dad smothering him with a hug. His dad motioned that he should be thanking us. Although I always love a hug, all I could think was that I didn’t want the credit. It was beautiful to see a child hug his father, who was the hero for making his birthday absolutely perfect. The father and son said thank you repeatedly and walked to their car arms around each other’s shoulders. It was such a great moment.
