FORGETTING
BIRTHDAY BOY

Topics: Birthdays; Celebration; Children

References: Matthew 15:7–9; Luke 11:42; John 4:23–24

The party on June 3, 2006, was for Michael Emmanuel’s sixth birthday, and friends and family were celebrating at the local Chuck E. Cheese in Boca Raton, Florida.

The party went just fine. The problem came when it was over. All the children and adults climbed into three different vehicles and headed home. Everyone, that is, except Michael.

Apparently, the birthday boy returned to the play area, and when the partygoers departed, the boy was left behind. Employees found Michael wandering around the restaurant at 10:00 p.m. and called the police.

Michael’s mother, who assumed that her son was staying with his grandmother, didn’t realize the boy was missing until the next morning. Unfortunately for Michael (and his mother), it is possible to have a joyful celebration and still forget the guest of honor.

—“Mother Forgets Child at 6th Birthday Party,” CBS4.com (June 5, 2006)