As we get older, we don’t look forward to our birthdays as much as we did when we were kids, but if you have kids (or if you remember being one), you know how special a birthday is to the grade school set.

Many kids love birthdays and birthday parties. When it’s their own birthday, they look forward to finally being a year older, getting presents, blowing out candles on their very own birthday cake, and maybe even having their friends come to a special birthday party just for them.

Our kids love birthday parties so much that they almost love going to their friends’ birthday parties as much as their own party. It means party favors and cupcakes plus a couple hours of fun activities with their best buds. What’s not to love?

A birthday party isn’t really a party without guests. Sure, your family can attend and it can be a smaller event, but when you’re a kid, it’s just not the same.

Thomas Daniel recently turned 9 years old, and he invited his classmates to his birthday party which was set to take place at his house after school. The only thing was that Thomas was bullied at school and didn’t even know if anyone would come to his party.

To make matters worse, Thomas missed the school bus on his birthday. He was running after the bus trying to catch it, but the bus driver didn’t stop.

What changed his luck was that a police officer named Austin Lynema happened to see Thomas running after the bus. He got permission from Thomas’ mom to drive him to school in his police car. During the drive, Thomas told Officer Lynema that it was his birthday, and he invited the officer to come to his party.

When Officer Lynema arrived at Thomas’ party, he saw that the only people there were Thomas’ family members. None of the kids from school were at the party. There wasn’t even a birthday cake.

That’s when Officer Lynema decided he needed to do something special for Thomas. Although he didn’t have time to pull a party together that same day, he was waiting for Thomas at his house when he got off the school bus the very next day.

Watch the video below to hear about the wonderful birthday surprises Officer Lynema planned for Thomas.

 

What’s your favorite birthday party memory from your childhood?