Birthday Cards That Transformed My Son

--by NJMaria, posted Jul 2, 2008

Back in October, I found a website -- wishuponahero.com -- that has changed my life for the better. The site is all about people helping others out of the goodness of their heart, not expecting anything in return.

I am a single mom on SSI and have a developmentally delayed child. My son's 12th birthday was the 29th of October 2007 and knowing that I could not afford to get him anything at all for his birthday, I felt broken hearted. I decided to post a wish on "Wish Upon A Hero" website for people to send my son birthday cards. I knew he loved to check the mailbox and always asked if there was anything for him. So, I thought that if he could get a few cards, it would make him smile and maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be so upset that I wasn't able to get him anything.

Well, let me tell you, the cards just starting pouring in and my little sweetie was absolutely thrilled! Every day more and more cards came and this went on for about three weeks. The smile on his face and the sparkle in his eyes brought me to tears.

At the end of November, he starting thinking about Christmas and he already knew that there would not be much under the tree for him due to my finances, but it didn't seem to matter to him. All he talked about was how much he wanted to make other children smile. He decided that what he wanted to do was earn money to buy Christmas cards and send them to other children from needy families.

My son went out daily and raked leaves and walked some dogs to make money. Not only did he make the money to buy the cards, but he also made enough money to buy all the stamps and lollipops to put in the cards. He sent out about 100 cards. Doing this brought him that same smile and sparkle in his eyes as did the birthday cards that he received. I was and am so proud of him.

My son and Wish Upon a Hero have given me renewed hope that there are still people in this world that care about others.

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Posted by NJMaria
Jul 2, 2008
Comments (22)

Readers Comments

quanetta wrote: Happy BirthDay To You Dylan Durham I hope u have a wonderful special day. hope you get many wishes uoy wish for.

cinnamonhead wrote: what a wonderful way that your son paid it forward. thank you for sharing.

maer wrote: It truly is more blessed to give than receive. The fulfillment and happiness your son received will live on & on. God bless both of you richly.

Flowers wrote: Wow, thanks for sharing such a wonderful story.

Kirsten wrote: "Wow", what a beautiful story! It just shows how a few simple acts of kindness can really transform peoples lives!

Angela wrote: What a wonderful story. I'm a member of Wish Upon a Hero site. I totally understand how your son felt, I love to be able to send things that I know will cheer people even a little. Between WUAH and this site I get my daily doses of"warm fuzzies" that cheer me up every day. Give your son a big hug!

sapna wrote: god bless to ur son...really gd deed

Janet wrote: What a good job you did! You're son obviously learned from you. What a wonderful thing he did for others! It just shows we can all do something, even if it seems small to us. Kindness never returns void.

NOELLE wrote: Your wonderful influence will make your son grow up to be someone special. Blessings to you BOTH.

ashley wrote: Your story, the heart of your sharing, is a gift in and of itself. Thank you to you and your family.

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