A boy in a wheelchair celebrating a birthday. | Source: Shutterstock

Sally organized a party for her son John’s birthday and was dismayed when no one showed up. She fixed the problem with a special surprise at school, but when she heard why the kids missed John’s party, it was heartbreaking.

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“Don’t worry, sweetie. Your friends are coming soon,” Sally assured her son, John, who looked sad with his shoulders hunched, after hours of waiting for people to show up to his birthday party.

Sally had no idea what was going on. She had delivered the invitations weeks ago so the parents could make arrangements. It was all set and done. But the party was supposed to begin at 1 p.m., and by 4 p.m., her kid was almost in tears because no one had arrived yet. Was everyone busy on a Sunday? she wondered.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

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After reassuring her son, Sally grabbed her phone and walked away so he wouldn’t hear. She dialed the parents’ numbers, but no one picked up. Obviously, they were ignoring her calls on purpose.

Finally, her husband, George, grabbed her phone, pulled it away from her ear, and shook his head.

“Honey, no one’s coming. Get your purse. Let’s take John for some ice cream to cheer him up,” he offered, and Sally had to contain her tears. But she nodded. She would make sure her kid had a lovely time.

Arlene and Rebecca frowned when their daughters explained what happened and why all the kids were so hyper.

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Luckily, John was strong. She wished he didn’t have to be, but he was.

John was diagnosed with a rare disease years ago, and he had to use a wheelchair at some point. John thought it was cool at first, but being unable to play with other kids his age was awful.

His parents tried their best to make him live a regular life, but it was not easy. He still went to regular school, as they had an access ramp at the local elementary school, and he was doing well despite his mobility issues. At least, Sally thought he was doing well. She thought he had made friends. This didn’t make any sense.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

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Still, she smiled and took her kid for some ice cream, and although he was sad, John cheered up somewhat that night, thanks to Sally and George’s attention. However, Sally couldn’t forget what happened.

When they returned home and put John to bed, she called his teacher, Miss Rogers, and she couldn’t understand it either.

“All the kids love John. They play with him and try to include him, even with his wheelchair. This is so odd,” Miss Rogers stated, confused.

“Well, that’s what I thought, but no one came. It’s odd, right?” Sally ranted a bit.

“How about doing something in school, Mrs. Cummins? We can have like a little party to make up for what happened,” the teacher offered, and Sally thought it was a fantastic idea.

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***

Sally appeared at school the next day with a cake, snacks, and balloons to decorate the class. John was shocked and delighted by his mother’s appearance. All his classmates loved it too. They sang happy birthday, enjoyed the treats and the break from their lessons, and it was all-around amazing.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

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Sally was overjoyed. She saw how the kids enjoyed and tried to include her son in everything they did. They were good kids. So why didn’t they come to the party?

She would soon find out why.

Some of the parents arrived to pick up their kids, who were still excited and talked nonstop about their little birthday party. Some of them smiled condescendingly and walked away quickly with their children.

However, two moms, Arlene and Rebecca, frowned when their daughters explained what happened and why all the kids were so hyper. They gave Sally a strange look and asked to speak to Miss Rogers outside the classroom.

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Some remaining kids were still running around the room and making noise, so Sally approached the door and stayed hidden to hear whatever those moms were telling the teacher.

“Miss Rogers, this is highly unexpected. I would think parents would be informed of such things in advance. We don’t want our children eating strange cake and treats just like that,” Arlene complained to the teacher. Sally frowned even more. It’s just cake! They’re kids!

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

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“Yes, Miss Rogers. We should’ve been notified. This can’t just happen. Also, it disrupts lessons and such,” Rebecca chimed in.

“I assure you that it didn’t disrupt anything. A break like this is actually beneficial to the kids because it gets them more excited about school later. Also, well, John was sad because no one went to his party yesterday. I thought it was a good idea. I suggested it to Mrs. Cummins,” Miss Rogers explained.

“Didn’t think that was deliberate? None of the parents want their children to deal with a kid like that. It’s too much. They’re too young. What if they like him and want to be his friend, and he dies? It’s too much,” Arlene argued, not knowing that her words were breaking Sally’s heart. She didn’t know the other mother well, but how they thought of her kid was awful.

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“Yeah, kids like that should be in special needs classes or whatever. Not with our healthy kids,” Rebecca added cattily.

“Are you two serious?” Miss Rogers started, her voice rising.

Sally didn’t want to hear more of it, so she left before she could hear Miss Rogers scolding the women. She grabbed John and went home, told her husband about the incident, and they both started talking about homeschooling or transferring their kid to a private school with better values.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

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When she told Miss Rogers and the principal of their plans, they assured her it was unnecessary. Instead, a parent-teacher meeting was called, and all of the parents got a severe lecture.

It turned out some of them had just been duped by Arlene and Rebecca into thinking the party had been canceled. Of course, a few did have plans that Sunday and couldn’t attend, but they had no problem with John making friends with their children at all.

In the end, those two moms had created the problem, and Miss Rogers made sure to put them in their places.

“Ironically, your girls love John to death,” she told them. “They are his biggest supporters, which makes me think that they’ll grow up to be amazing women IN SPITE of their mothers.” Those biting words subdued the two moms.

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The rest of the parents apologized to Sally and promised that nothing like that would ever happen again. They wanted nothing to do with Arlene and Rebecca’s attitude. They wanted their kids to learn about John and be friends with him.

“Our kids will only become better people if they know that John and other children like him are just as amazing as they are. Hanging with him is a lesson they need to learn young,” one father told the gathering. “It will also prevent them from acting like bigots.”

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

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Arlene and Rebecca left the meeting with their tails between their legs, and Sally was glad. Her kid got to stay in his class with his friends, who truly loved him. They never had a discrimination issue in class ever again.

Thinking about this incident years later, Sally marveled at the idea of kids being open, sincere, and unafraid of differences, even with narrow-minded parents.

What can we learn from this story?

  • Kids are born without prejudices. Children are born innocent and free of prejudices. Parents must strive hard to cultivate this and not corrupt their minds.
  • Parents will do what’s best for their kids, even if it means changing their lives. Sally almost took her son out of school to protect him. Luckily, others truly wanted him there, and she changed her mind.

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Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a disabled boy whose party no one attended, but he made a wish and discovers something shocking later.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.

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