Grandparents to the rescue on birthday
Oshawa boy has happy birthday despite the outbreak of COVID-19 virus
Kieran was still able to celebrate his fifth birthday with his grandparents despite his family needing to self-isolate after a trip to Florida as they watched him open presents through the window.
By Courtney Bachar/The Oshawa Express
Not even a global pandemic can stop a little Oshawa boy from celebrating his birthday.
Kieran was all set to celebrate his fifth birthday on March 20 with friends and family at a local bowling alley. However, little did he know, a virus was going to swoop in and try to stop all of that from happening.
The family was vacationing in Florida just one week prior when Kieran’s mother, Alison, knew she was going to have to make the tough decision to possibly cancel her son’s birthday party because of the virus.
At this point, things with COVID-19 were just starting to take a turn for the worse here in Ontario, however, Alison and her family weren’t fully aware of just how quickly things were escalating north of the border until they returned home on March 16.
“We were just ahead of the curve, but we came home to a quarantine,” she said.
In addition to learning about all the new health and social distancing guidelines, the bowling alley where the party was set to take place had closed its doors, as many other businesses had done, in order to adhere to the province’s guidelines to practice social distancing and help stop the spread of the virus.
Alison said her son was upset when she told him of his cancelled party at the bowling alley. She added Kieran got even more upset when she explained, at least as best as you can to a five-year-old, why a home party couldn’t happen either.
“Our hearts broke and we didn’t know what to do. I cried along with him.”
Alison said her in-laws, Kieran’s grandma and papa, felt so bad for him as well. So, grandparents Alan and Vicki got creative to make sure their grandson still had a special day.
On March 20, Kieran’s birthday, Alan and Vicki headed over to their grandson’s house for his big day. However, this party wasn’t going to be quite like in years past.
On this day, when Alan and Vicki arrived, they got out of their vehicle, placed Kieran’s present on the front step, went back to their vehicle, got in, and waited.
Kieran and his family then came outside to retrieve the precious gift before heading back inside and gathering in front of the large bay window in their house.
Alan and Vicki then got out of their vehicle and joined their family, from the outside, on the other side of the window.
“They came to the window and called us on speakerphone,” said Alison. “We were able to be together and they could watch him open the presents that we had for him, and the present that they had given him, along with one I had for my sister for him to open,” she continued.
Alison said the family, both inside and out, enjoyed a wonderful gathering and some really special moments.
“We just hung out together. It was so sweet to see.”