My beautiful nephew who was born very prematurely a year ago, is celebrating his 1 year birthday today - and they had a "birthday parade." I'm sobbing. pic.twitter.com/0HAbtdl1Gc [1]
— Justin Randall (@imjustinrandall) March 26, 2020 [2]
It's hard for any family having to celebrate a child's birthday during this time of extreme social distancing, but for Justin Randall's nephew, it was particularly bittersweet. The baby boy named Cam was born "very prematurely" a year ago, so this milestone was hard-fought and deserved much more fanfare than a Zoom conference call could offer.
While the family stood on their chalk-art-covered driveway, a caravan of cars, SUVs, and minivans slowly rolled down the street in a "birthday parade." As they drove past, the series of loved ones inside the vehicles waved, blew air kisses, and shouted "I love you, guys!" Some blasted nursery rhymes on the radio, others held festive signs out their open windows, others held streamers or attached rainbow-coloured balloons to their door handles, and still more painted well wishes on their exteriors.
Even if Cam was too little to appreciate the gesture, it had a big impact on the family. Cam's big brother, Jake, could be heard in the background, shouting, "A balloon!" And their mom? You could almost hear the joyful tears in her voice as she encouraged her young kids to wave and say hi to the well-wishers.
As Justin noted on Twitter, "I'm sobbing." Yep, this celebration will be hard to top.