Our first born turned five last week. Pre COVID-19, we had big plans to take the family to Disney World to celebrate. We’ve never been to the magical place and wanted to go since our daughter had learned that there was a place where princesses, Mickey/Minnie Mouse, rides, sweet treats and more co-existed! Needless to say, our special vacation will be postponed until a future date, but we weren’t about to let what has consumed our lives for the past several months take over her BIG day. I finally met someone who loves birthdays more than I do, and it’s our daughter.
Birthday parties can still be special and fun during quarantine! Because of my autoimmune disease, and recently having a baby, we’ve maintained the original stay at home orders – so we had to get creative. All of our kiddos are water babies, so we knew there would be some element with water. I found a giant inflatable water slide with two slides, so that both she and her sister would have their own slide. They LOVED it! The pure joy on their faces is just priceless. For a small moment, we were able to forget that we’ve been in our little bubble here on Welcome Drive. This is the perfect water toy for some backyard summer fun. We’ve used it every day since her birthday, so it’s a win all around. 
We knew we needed to nail the cake. When I was little we were lucky to have a cake lady (her name shall remain anonymous) in our neighborhood. She made cakes for all the kiddos, and these weren’t just your average Betty Crocker cakes. These had tiers, different colored fondants, sprinkles galore and major props depending on the interest of the child at the time. Lucky for us, my mother and Lucy’s Gammy is a cake baker extraordinarie. She made a vanilla flavored, rainbow cake, with rich white cream cheese frosting and several different sized mermaids placed just so that could be played with after the fact. Lucy grinned ear from ear when we brought her cake out to the tune of Happy Birthday.
We had a new surprise for Lucy this year. We wanted something that would knock her socks off, and that it did. The business is called, Secret Sign Sisters. They actually make a giant sign (based on your type of celebration) and customize it according to your likes to give it some personality, and place it on your front lawn. That’s not it though, it gets better. They come to your house, and set it up when no one is looking. The sun went down, and sure enough we watched them pull up to the house, and set things up with minimal light. We decided upon, “Happy 5th Birthday Lucy! We Love You.”
Lucy woke up at the crack of dawn (no different than any typical day for her), and we told her to walk out the front door. Instead of describe it to you, watch for yourself below and ENJOY! It also feels really good to support local businesses right now.Â
I saved the best for last. We had her Gammys and Papas over and she got to hug them for the first time since her brother was born in February. It was a masked visit, but the eyes are the window to the soul, and let me tell you, everyone’s eyes were dancing. Our family had been doing their own versions of quarantine so they could see Lucy on her birthday. She also heard from her aunties, uncle, cousins, and great Grandmas via FaceTime, text messages and my personal favorite, good ol’ fashion mail. Her best friend, Nora, even sent her the sweetest video message, and mermaid gift.
Yes, birthdays might look a little different these days, but the magic is still within. When I tucked our sweet 5 year old in that night, she looked at me with her big, beautiful brown eyes and said, “Mommy, this was my best birthday yet.” During times of uncertainty, there is always hope, and I thank my daughter Lucy for teaching me that.
“Children see magic because they look for it.”
– Christopher Moore
