Rhianna couldn’t wait to turn nine.
She had everything ready for her party and was counting down the days to the celebration at her Melbourne home.
Rhianna has high-functioning autism and her mum, Candy, knew she didn’t have many school friends so she invited about 10 of her own friends to make the party special.
She cleaned the house and got all the food ready.
But nobody turned up at all.
People texted to say they couldn’t get the car or they were sick. Horrified at her daughter’s tears, she took to social media to vent her anger and frustration:
“After the post was online, a lot of my friends then contacted me that they were upset about what people were saying about them. She says they were more worried about that, then what happened to Rhianna or how I felt, how selfish is that?”
Within hours of her post, Candy was inundated with messages of support for Rhianna. What’s more, soon there were 40 adults and children in her house enjoying the party. There were ‘happy birthday’ messages from Syndey, the UK, India and South Africa.
People also brought food, wine, cake. Candy said it was more than she should ever wish for. She now wants parents to realise that being invited to a birthday party is a privilege and she hopes people will realise how important it is to show up just to be supportive.
What do you think of this? Do you think twice before cancelling on a party invite?
