Nothing is more heartbreaking than having no one show up to celebrate your birthday with you. You could have all the fun activities lined up, special character guests or appearances, a particular theme, balloons, and the best cake and food, but when no one shows up to share it with you, things can start to feel rather sad and dull.
That’s what most of us could relate to but imagine having all of that to deal with, and that your mom just passed away. Now, your birthday might be more important than ever to be a distraction from the sad event. That’s exactly what Charlotte was going through on her 11th birthday.
Her 20-year-old sister, Chloe has always been there for her younger sister and has been like a second mother figure to her, but when their mother passed in April, the rubber met the road and the big sister had to dig in and make sure Charlotte was okay, becoming her guardian.
The momentous day for Charlotte was highly expected to bring some positive light to the otherwise gloomy moment they are experiencing. However, when Charlotte sent invitations to her classmates – only one RSVPed, making things look even dimmer than before. However, Chloe wasn’t okay with things ending on a bad note. She took to social media about her birthday and soon her video went viral.
“My little sister turns eight tomorrow. Her birthday party is going to be this week. Our mom died of brain cancer 83 days ago. One. One child from her class RSVP’ed. Her whole class knew what happened, okay,?” the young now-mom of her younger sister said with tears.
Their mother struggled against brain cancer for the majority of Charlotte’s life, going through five medical procedures for upwards of 11 years. Charlotte also wasn’t used to celebrating her birthday or attending big parties, and given the circumstances, Chloe wanted to show her a good time and throw her a special big party.
Chloe explained in the TikTok video that she was attempting to make all the decorations by hand and all by herself for the party, saying that things got so bad that Charlotte had to move schools after her mother’s death and that’s when they invited her new classmates of which only one kid RSVP’d.
They were very disappointed and hurt by the results. However, online things were quickly brewing for their birthday as it almost instantly went viral and now has over 9 million views.
Many online and local people started contacting Chloe with offers to attend the birthday party and even help make and set up the decorations. Other mothers around the Memphis area are in contact with Chloe trying to figure out a day that they can all come together and work on this party together.
The best part is that Charlotte didn’t have any idea of what was going on behind the scenes, and just how far her sister was willing to go for her. “I didn’t tell her anything about the kids not coming. I only focused on who was coming,” Chloe said. “So I told her, you’re going to meet a lot of new kids today. And it’s going to be amazing and you’re going to have the best birthday of your life, I promise you.”
Big words from her big sister, and words that were backed up thanks to the community coming together. Charlotte’s party had a pool, water slide, pony, a wall of balloons, and a line of vehicles down the block. There were lots of people who attended and even those who didn’t stay, still dropped by to drop a present off for the young girl.
At the end of the day, what did Charlotte think of her big day? Well, she said, “It feels like it became something that was so much more than a birthday party.” Amazing words and I’m sure this moment will stick with her forever in a good way.
As for Chloe, she was more than grateful to all who came to the rescue and is elated at the results. As for the kids who didn’t show up? Well, she had only one thing to say to them in her TikTok video: “If a kid in your child’s class gives out birthday invitations, just come. It’s like an hour of your life,” she said.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News