HOMESTEAD, FLA. (WSVN) - A 4-year-old Homestead girl received a very special surprise from police officers after her birthday celebration had to be called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Practicing safe social distancing is not easy, and for Amanda Thiele and her daughter Jade, this year’s birthday plans were put on hold.
“We were just going to kind of hang out at home and do our thing,” said Thiele. “It’s, I imagine, hard for everyone. We actually just moved here — we are a military family — we moved here from Utah, and the kids were just starting to make new friends, and then everything happened.”
Then Thiele got a call from Homestead Police.
“I thought I had done something. ‘Did I speed somewhere or something?'” she said. “But no. He had informed us that someone had requested to do a little parade for a birthday girl.”
That request turned into a police block party. Officers stood outside the family’s house and lined the street, as they played the 4-year-old a “Happy Birthday to You” recording loud enough for all of them to hear.
It was a touching birthday surprise, not only for Jade, but for her entire family.
“I consider myself a pretty strong person, but I was almost brought to tears to it,” said Thiele. “It was amazing of them to come out, and I wasn’t expecting even what they did. They decorated their cars, had the lights go on, they all got out of their cars and played her ‘Happy Birthday.'”
Jade was even given an honorary police badge, making for an extra special moment for this military family.
“It was heartwarming. I really enjoyed it, and I am really thankful that they did it. They made us feel really welcome,” said Thiele.
But even with all these officers shining a light on Jade on her big day, nothing beats the best part of a birthday.
“Do we have cake?” said Jade.
“We do have cake,” said Thiele.
“Can I eat cake right now?” said Jade.
“We can eat cake, yeah,” replied her mother.
So how did Homestead Police know it was Jade’s birthday? Officials said a corrections officer called in from Missouri with the tip, and that’s when Thiele knew right away it was her mother-in-law.
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