On Tuesday afternoon, Miles Semales got the surprise of his life.
It was his 8th birthday and he was bummed that his parents had to cancel his party because of the social distancing required to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
It wasn’t an easy thing for his parents to explain that the same virus that meant he couldn’t go to his school or the playground also meant no birthday party. They told him he didn’t do anything wrong.
Right around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, with the spring sun shining, Miles went for a bike ride around his neighborhood on Peterson Circle, near Beaver Meadow Golf Course.
His eyes widened as he saw all his neighbors standing on their lawns waving at him. They had signs – big, colorful signs – wishing him a happy birthday.
He saw his neighbor, Shannon Manseau, dressed up in a Tigger outfit waving with her husband and their son, PJ.
He saw another neighbor, Jaclyn Figueira, dressed up a T-Rex wiggling and waving as he rode by.
He saw three Concord Fire trucks and two Concord Police cruisers with their emergency lights flashing and horns beeping. The police wished him a happy birthday over their loudspeaker.
It was all for him!
He said he felt “super hero good” to see everyone outside wishing him a happy birthday.
Everyone kept a safe distance and made an 8-year-old feel very special at the same time.
His mom, Ayda Semales, sent a notice to the neighborhood Facebook group to plan the surprise: She figured if people could wave from their doors or have signs that say happy birthday that would be nice.
What she got blew her away.
“My heart is so happy and I am so grateful for our friends in our neighborhood,” she said. “It just came out really awesome. And like he said he feels really, really special, and grateful. So no tears after all for canceling his birthday.”
It turned out to be one of the best birthdays ever.
Miles thanked his mother and father and sister, and all his friends and neighbors.
“It feels super good,” Miles said.
His dad Mike Semales said a big reason why they bought their home was the Governors Woods neighborhood.
“Today was a reminder of how lucky we are to live here,” he said. “It was encouraging to see a neighborhood come together while also respecting the seriousness that the world is going through to stop the spread of COVID-19.”