For grownups, the intensity and excitement of birthday celebrations may fizzle out through the years but to a little kid, birthdays are always a big deal.
Typically, kids are beyond themselves with excitement on the eve of their birthday. Parents know this all too well. Pre-birthday bedtime is either a struggle or a breeze: they talk nonstop about the next day’s plans or eagerly get ready for bed in anticipation of the celebration.
So you can imagine how disappointing it is to a child for his or her birthday to be forgotten, especially by family.
Tom’s special day didn’t start out as expected. There were no cheery greetings from family, no extraordinary breakfast spread.
It seemed to him that his own mother had forgotten his birthday.
Raising Tom alone while juggling multiple jobs to make ends meet, Tom’s mom didn’t intend to make her son feel lonely and forgotten on his birthday.
In fact, she didn’t forget.
That very day, she mentioned how there was a fun party planned for Tom and his classmates at Chuck E. Cheese after school.
Tom perked up at the news and went on to tell his classmates all about it. However, none of them seemed to have any idea what he was talking about. He went on with the usual routine in school.
If there’s any consolation to a horrible beginning, it’s that Tom was able to spend the day with his friends.
Tom kept his hopes up until it was time to go home. After all, he did have a fun party to look forward to. He waited and waited until the last of his classmates got picked up from campus.
Still, his mother didn’t come.
A worried teacher tried to get in touch with Tom’s mother.
It turns out she got involved in a mishap as she was about to leave the parking lot to go collect her son from school. This meant having to stay behind until the issue was resolved.
One alternative was to search for an emergency contact who could fetch Tom from school. Unfortunately, there was no one listed on his records so the teacher kept the little boy with her until she reached the best and safest solution – to get in touch with the police.
Officer Darryl Robinson arrived and by a stroke of luck, he turned out to be someone who knew the little boy. In fact, he also knew it was Tom’s birthday.
The Green Bay Police Department officer wanted to give Tom a happy ending to a somewhat confusing and disappointing day.
Officer Robinson decided to take the opportunity and give Tom a birthday celebration to remember, starting with a fun ride in the police car.
He even brought Tom to the police station to show him around and give the curious birthday boy an idea of how things work inside.
Since all officers have food certificates, the kind hearted cop decided to take Tom out for some cheeseburgers, too.
Already, Tom was enjoying his day: a ride around the town in a real police car, a delicious meal at McDonald’s, and a tour of the police station.
“It seemed like he was in good spirits. He was playing around. He was excited. It was his birthday. I brought him to McDonald’s, got him a sandwich. He loved playing with the toy in his Happy Meal.”
It was more than the birthday boy imagined for his special day.
The Green Bay officer, who promptly coordinated with the teacher and Tom’s grandfather, did what he thought would cheer the boy up and make him feel loved despite the hassles of that day.
Tom may not have gotten the Chuck E. Cheese birthday party his mom promised but he did have a birthday to remember, all thanks to the kind officer.
It takes a village to raise a child indeed. Tom and his mom are truly lucky to be surrounded by supportive and loving individuals like Officer Robinson.
See how Tom’s special day went by watching the video below.
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