Riv Turns 6: Maplewood, NJ

Like everyone else, I never thought we’d be living through a pandemic or that my child wouldn’t be celebrating his birthday surrounded by friends this year. We had planned a glow in the dark dance party at the YMCA and were set to invite the whole class (which being in kindergarten seems outrageous…but a dance party with 23 people also sounds epic for a 6 year old). Soon enough, we realized we had to cancel it.

And you know what, it turned out to be more special this year than any other. We had family, friends and teachers send videos of them telling jokes and saying/singing Happy Birthday so we made it into a video for him. We made a cardboard sign, taped balloons to his bedroom door, had giant balloons delivered the night before and all his gifts waiting for him when he woke up, including an electric go-kart. He helped make a cake from a box the day before and then frosted it on his bday (he doesn’t usually participate in cooking with me so this was huge!).

At one point I looked out the front window and saw friends writing chalk messages on our sidewalk and then another from his class came to do the same. I cried…I’m usually doing all the planning that to see a surprise act of kindness just threw me over the edge.

The weather was warm and perfect that day so we had the cake outside in the backyard. We got the idea from The Workspace For Children to dig directly into the cake with our forks. It was a first time for us but will now be a tradition.

At 6pm all the neighbors came out to bang pots and pans and sing Happy Birthday and a few good friends drove by as well. It was the first moment of normalcy throughout the whole pandemic…and I could really see the smile on my boy’s face.