Grandma vented on Facebook when no one showed up at grandson's birthday party — she wasn't prepared for the response
Many children dream of having perfect birthday parties with friends, cake, snacks, games and other vibrant stuff. Rightly so, a birthday is meant to be a celebration of a person’s life and they have every right to receive attention and love on the special day. Unfortunately, some children don’t get this opportunity. An elderly woman named Amelia Lara revealed in a Facebook post that her second-grader grandson, Gerald Hamilton, was pushed to celebrate his birthday alone when no one showed up. She mentioned that because he was slow and different from others, no one turned up on his big day. Her heartbreaking post reached the right strangers, and their response is unbelievably reassuring.
Nancy Rosenow, author and expert in self-development, noted the importance of birthday parties for children, per Tinkergarten. She explained that a birthday celebration can be a primary factor in teaching kids gratitude. “When we start finding reasons to celebrate, it shifts our focus on gratitude; our children pick up on that and they’ll follow suit,” she noted. It was further reported that celebrating occasions like birthdays to cherish and reaffirm important things leaves a lasting value on kids. “They’ll start saying things like, ‘We saw our first butterfly, let’s have a celebration,’ and it’s lovely to see. Children think of celebrations in a different way than adults and we can all learn from that,” Rosenow further remarked.
One can only imagine how brutal it can be to deprive a child of their birthday celebration, much more to have a party and have no one show up because the child is different. Lara mentioned that Hamilton has had “at least 5 skull expansion surgeries and is slower than the other kids in his class.” However, he is “the kindest and most compassionate kid” she knows. Hamilton's mom sent out 30 invites and received a positive response from 12. They immediately started preparing for their 12 guests, and he got dressed and anticipated his friends' arrival.
“At 3 o'clock, he made sure his goodie bags were ready for his friends, he was dressed and ready to party,” the grandma recalled. A few hours later, at 5 pm, no one showed up. The boy’s mom suggested he cut his cake. However, he refused and replied, “One of my friends might come,” the grandma shared, per CBS Chicago. When the mom called to ask why the kids hadn't shown up, she received a heartbreaking reply. Many parents said, “My child can't play with yours, he is just too different.” “He is 9, he just wants to have friends,” the grandma poignantly mentioned.
She noted that since no one showed up and the boy got no cards or presents, she hoped to receive cards for her grandson from strangers. She shared her mail details and said, “It is my mission to have as many cards as I can mailed to my little guy.” Many people responded with kindness. Matthew Tomsic said, “I'll send the little guy a card!” Vonnie Peterson Snover added, “Bring him by Hobart any time! You know how we make everyone fit in!” Mary Lynn Calgaro noted, “I texted one of my police detective friends, and asked him to just get a card and have some of the officers sign it.”
With over 4,300 shares on Facebook, people delivered just as they had promised. The footage from the outlet showed several colorful cards, toys and other gifts laid out in front of the then-9-year-old. With a pleasant smile, he and his grandma read every card and message and excitedly went through all the toys. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, the boy will forever remember his 9th birthday, but in a wholesome way.