An Unforgettable Stay at Home Birthday

This year I figured Noah's 17th birthday would be more low key and without fanfare.However, on May 30th while our family celebrated Noah turning 17, a community of school and church friends, neighbors and teachers cheered for him, too!

Natalie created a scavenger hunt with clues stuffed into a fun, Dollar Tree find -- mini Lego boxes. His efforts were rewarded with a new game for his Nintendo Switch.

Next, I presented him with the incredible stack of 74 birthday cards.

74!

Cards arrived from as far as my cruise ship friends living in the U.K. to our long-time, cross-the-street, neighbor, Elaine.

Noah was speechless. I was overwhelmed by the outpour of loving cards -- many of them Star Wars themed (no two alike!), lots of sweet, handwritten notes and handmade cards depicting Noah's love of videogames, music and memes.

He received cards and gifts from...
...family members and friends near and far
...some of my high school friends I haven't seen in decades
...my overseas work friends from 25 years ago
...longtime college friends of mine
...my dental hygenist
...several of Steve's friends from work
...his orthodontist
...his retired, living out of state, 1st grade teacher
...two of his occupational therapists (heavy on the therapist. :-) )
...nearly all of his Webster Groves High School teachers and specialists
...church friends
...school friends
...Best Buddies

It took Noah more than an hour to open all of his cards. Later, his school friend, Luke, stopped by to say hello and give Noah a LEGO Star Wars painting he made himself. He and his parents have been such a light and saving grace for us in making Noah's transition from Miriam to WGHS a smooth one.

But, the love didn't stop there.

I received a message from his church youth leader, Katy, asking if she and another leader could stop by for a visit...maybe sit outside on the lawn and catch up. I was thrilled with her offer because in recent weeks, Noah had really started to feel isolated and lonely. That afternoon, four church leaders and several youths stopped by with ice cold popsicles and warm greetings. They stayed for an hour.

IT   WAS    AWESOME.  Truly.

But, there was even more...

Later in the afternoon, I received a text message from his Best Buddy, Ryan, asking if he and a few friends could do a drive-by parade.  Ryan led the two car party and as they honked and waved, he called Noah over to him to give him a mini-figure LEGO Star Wars set.

The entire day felt magical and a welcome change from the Twilight Zone, stay-at-home conditions we had been living under for months.

I can't look at the photos without tearing up as I relive the feelings felt that day. I'm disappointed I didn't capture any photos from the church group that showed up, but I guess I was having too good of a time chatting with everyone -- I forgot.

Thank you.

 It wouldn't be his birthday without a duel or two. Here he is with his buddy, Luke.

 Noah's biology teacher reached out to me to ask about Noah's favorite junk foods. He dropped off a bag of sweet and savory treats that ...as you can see from the photo, Noah was only mildly excited about.

 Noah's longtime, Star Wars loving friend, Lilia sent him birthday greetings and lightsabers fashioned from colored bands.

 A life-sized lightsaber card...when waved around it sounded like the real thing, too!

Scavenger hunt fun

Honk! Honk! It's a birthday parade.

 A double decker, chocolate chip cookie sundae cake